“The European Union’s activities relating to the restructuring of the Libyan security apparatus must be halted without delay. This applies to training projects for the military and for the police,” said Andrej Hunko, Member of the German Bundestag, in response to the Federal Government’s answer to a Minor Interpellation about the EUROSUR border surveillance system.
The EU launched the EUBAM police mission with the aim of establishing an Italian-style gendarmerie in Libya. This force, which is under military command, will initially be used to guard the borders; oil facilities owned by EU companies could follow at a later date. By contrast, the launch of the EU-funded SAHARA-MED project to improve the protection of refugees cannot go ahead: according to the Federal Government, the “Libyan partners” have refused to work with the Italian Council for Refugees.
Andrej Hunko went on:
“Italy is establishing facilities to monitor Libya’s sea and land borders. These facilities are connected to Italian command and control centres. The aim is to prevent refugees from making the crossing to Europe. If they are detected while still in Libyan waters, the EU Member States can avoid having to deal with asylum applications. However, the protection of refugees is not guaranteed in Libya. There are reports of serious abuses by the police and militias.
German organisations are involved in the militarisation of surveillance in the Mediterranean. A Fraunhofer Institute, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the armaments company EADS are developing a satellite-based system to detect, from space, small boats as they set sail. An alert will then be sent to all members of a network of Mediterranean countries. Libya has already said that it wants to participate. Tunisia and Egypt are now also to be convinced to take part by the EU.
EU migration policy is thus verging on a covert intelligence operation. The Federal Government must therefore press the Commission and the members of the Council to halt the militarisation of the Mediterranean. The Federal Police must end its cooperation with Libya without delay. Support should instead be given to initiatives to ensure that refugees receive legal protection and to tackle abuses committed by the police, the military and militias.”
Download the answer to the Minor Interpellation entitled “The launch of the EUROSUR border surveillance network” (in English): http://www.andrej-hunko.de/start/download/doc_download/417-the-eurosur-surveillance-network
Download the answer to the Minor Interpellation entitled “The launch of the EUROSUR border surveillance network” (in German): http://www.andrej-hunko.de/start/download/doc_download/412-antwort-auf-die-kleine-anfrage-beginn-des-grenzueberwachungsnetzwerk-eurosur