EU may extend Mediterranean mission for 6 months, only for air patrols – draft

The European Union is considering a six-month extension to its Mediterranean mission, but only for air patrols and training Libya’s coastguard, according to a draft statement. The Sophia mission is aimed at cracking down on smugglers and migration from Africa. The current mandate expires this week and Italy wants to change it so that its ships are no longer patrolling and picking up people in the sea. Other states such as Germany want to prolong Sophia. A potential compromise discussed by diplomats in Brussels on Tuesday said the operation commander would be instructed to temporarily suspend the deployment of naval assets “while continuing to implement its mandate reinforcing surveillance by air assets,” Reuters reports. EU diplomats said, however, that the proposal was not yet certain to win the final endorsement.