Triton to be reinforced, expanded for migrant crisis

(ANSA) - Brussels, April 24 - Italian Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday some progress was made at Thursday's EU migrant emergency summit, in which leaders decided to triple funding for the EU Triton sea mission and to review ways to destroy people smugglers' boats before they depart. "A step forward was taken, but the road ahead remains long," Renzi said.
    "As of yesterday (the migrant crisis) is no longer just Italy and Malta's problem but everyone's problem...as of yesterday, for the first time we are saying our brothers are not dying by chance but as slaves to a racket".
    EU leaders agreed to triple funding for Triton to 120 million euros a year and to extend its "operational area" beyond 30 nautical miles from coastlines, European Commission spokesperson Natasha Bernaud said Friday. However, they stopped short of changing Triton's mandate into a fully fledged search-and-rescue operation. While countries such as Belgium, Britain, Croatia, France, Germany, Norway and Slovenia offered ships and resources, the matter of how to distribute migrants equally among EU members remained unresolved as many members mounted strong resistance to their relocation on their soil.
    Migrant reception remained on a voluntary basis, with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker admitting he wished for "a more ambitious result".
    However, EU sources said the matter had not been settled and will likely return to the table at an upcoming summit in June.
    Amnesty International called the summit's outcome "a face-saving operation, not a life-saving one".
    "Real solutions could have been agreed upon" to prevent more deaths, said Amnesty International Brussels Director Iverna McGowan. "If the Triton mandate can't be changed, Triton is not a solution".
    European heads of state agreed on the need to fight people smugglers.
    France and Great Britain will put forward a resolution to seek UN cover for a military operation which includes surgical strikes on the Libyan coast in order to destroy the boats before they are used - an idea which the Vatican has slammed as counterproductive and potentially fatal to innocent bystanders.