The European Commission on Thursday declined to comment on leaked files questioning the efficacy of EU operation on migrant rescue in the Mediterranean Sea
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2019) The European Commission on Thursday declined to comment on leaked files questioning the efficacy of EU operation on migrant rescue in the Mediterranean Sea.Earlier in the day, Politico outlet reported that a cache of documents leaked from the EU foreign policy service suggested that Operation Sophia did not have enough funding, staff or equipment. EU officials purportedly admitted in internal documentation that some members of the Libyan Coast Guard funded and trained by the bloc are working with smugglers.
"We do not comment on leaked documents. What I can offer is a general comment of our position ... Our priority has always been and remains to save people's lives. Since 2015, EU operations in total, not only Sophia, have contributed to saving almost 700,000 lives," a spokesman for the commission, Carlos Martin Ruiz De Gordejuela, said.
Operation Sophia has been active since 2015, adding training and equipping the Libyan coast guard to its tasks in 2016.
