Frontex Director Ilkka Laitinen said at a Friday press conference that Frontex will not participate in the naval patrols that France and Italy have said they will carry out along the Tunisian coast in an effort to block the departures of migrant boats from Tunisia. Laitinen said Frontex could not enter Tunisian territorial waters without a specific agreement with Tunisia and no such agreement exists.
A statement on the Italian Foreign Ministry web site seems to suggest that France and Italy are contemplating joint naval patrols along the North African coast in general, not just along the Tunisian coast: France and Italy will conduct patrols “on the North African coast, especially Tunisia, to stop the departures.” (sulle coste nordafricane, in particolare quelle tunisine, per bloccare le partenze.)
Click here (IT) for article.
Click here (IT) for statement on Italian Foreign Ministry web site.
MIGRANTS AT SEA 