Who will patrol Europe's border?

Last Modified: 21 Jun 2007
By: Jonathan Rugman

Why can't Europe's promised border patrols come to Malta's help in coping with the great exodus from Africa?

Off the coast of Malta yesterday, a patrol boat was hauling in the human catch from the latest disaster at sea. One of these Africans was found floating in the Mediterranean.

Three others migrants were rescued while clinging to a fishing net after their boat capsized. One decomposed corpse believed to have come from another overturned boat. While 22 more Africans are missing, believed drowned.

"Lives are being lost at sea every day. It's useless pointing fingers without saying what are you doing about it. And this is what acting collectively in Europe is all about"
- Simon Busuttil, Maltese MEP, European Parliament

It's an African exodus of epic proportions which is leaving thousands dead each year.

From the holiday beaches of the Canary Islands to Malta and Greece, These are the killing fields along Europe's southern border. And while Europe did not ask them to come its failure to stop them is counted in human lives.

"Lives are being lost at sea every day. It's useless pointing fingers without saying what are you doing about it. And this is what acting collectively in Europe is all about" - Simon Busuttil - Maltese MEP, European Parliament

A thousand miles north of the Mediterranean and we are in the Polish capital, Warsaw. On the 22nd floor of an office block is the headquarters of Frontex, Europe's first combined border patrol agency.

In a few days time, a Frontex air and sea task force is due to start patrolling off Malta. Yet though Frontex was founded in 2005 its members still can't agree what its rules of engagement are or which countries will take part.

"The starting point is we cannot run our joint operations all time, it's for budgetary reasons and because member states are not willing to do it in that way"
- Ilkka Laitinen, Director, Frontex

But for the moment, the main Frontex situation room just contains just a table, a few chairs and not a telephone in sight. And in the meantime the deadly summer migration season is well under way

"The starting point is we cannot run our joint operations all time, it's for budgetary reasons and because member states are not willing to do it in that way" - Ilkka Laitinen, Director, Frontex

Frontex is funded by the European Parliament based here in Strasbourg and by individual member states. Britain's contribution this year, a mere £300,000. And the European Commission is now trying to arm twist Europe's capitals into sending urgently needed hardware and personnel to the Mediterranean by the end of this month.

A few weeks ago Mr Frattini accused one country, Malta of putting bureaucracy ahead of human life, after Malta argued with its neighbours for three days over who should rescue 27 Africans floating in the sea.

The Maltese were furious. Pointing out they had to patrol a stretch of ocean the size of the UK, with no sign of Frontex to back them up.

Last summer the Italians helped the Spanish in a Frontex operation, a spotter plane flying off the coast of Senegal - 3,500 migrants were intercepted over the year.

But at least 32,000 migrants, a staggering figure, made it to the Spanish coast. Eight European nations had pledged their help to Frontex. But in the end only three of these countries kept their word.

But Frontex still has no legal right to rescue migrants itself. That's up to individual states not all of whom like taking orders from this office block in Poland.

Immigration: Malta's crisis

Malta is struggling to deal with the immigration influx from Africa to Europe. See Jonathan Miller's photos and read his blog.
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Only last weekend Libya dragged its feet in accepting back this boatload of 27 Africans accompanied by one corpse. And as for those migrants who do make it to Europe, well nobody can agree where they should be resettled.

So why isn't everybody supporting Frontex? Well it's that old chestnut dominating tonight's EU summit - a fear of a loss of sovereignty if Frontex becomes the vanguard of a single immigration policy applying right across Europe.

In Strasbourg Frontex has become a political hot potato. The European Commission sees it as a fledgling border patrol for all of Europe. While some individual member states are worried about a potential loss of sovereignty if Frontex really does take off. And while Europe bickers about Frontex, how it operates and what it's for, wave upon wave of African migrants will continue to die. Europe failing to save thousands - and stop this humanitarian crisis unfolding on its doorstep.