EU ministers urged to act after hundreds of migrants feared dead

EU foreign ministers will come under pressure to take further steps to prevent the loss of life of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea when they meet on Monday after as many as 700 refugees were feared dead in the latest accident off the Libyan coast.

In what would mark the worst maritime disaster of its kind in the Mediterranean, an overcrowded boat tipped over after the refugees caught sight of a Portuguese merchant ship coming to rescue them and all shifted to one side, according to accounts by just 28 survivors.

As a massive search-and-rescue operation was under way at the site of the accident, the European Commission released a statement calling for "bold" and "immediate" actions to be taken to stem the crisis. Pope Francis called on Europe to act "swiftly and decisively" to address the emergency.

EU foreign ministers meet in Luxembourg on Monday for a regular meeting but it takes on new urgency as the migrant death toll mounts in the Mediterranean.

Ahead of the meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged her full support for Italy in responding to the latest refugee crisis in the Mediterranean. "In the German view, Italy is definitely not alone," said her spokesman on Monday.

He confirmed that, in a phone call on Sunday, Ms Merkel and Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi promised to work together on a common EU policy.

Calmer spring weather between Libya and Sicily has led to more than 11,000 migrants making the crossing in the past 10 days, straining the resources of Italian authorities who are struggling to rescue and care for them once on land.

The 11-month civil war between rival Libyan authorities has also halted longstanding efforts at cracking down on smuggling networks trafficking migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Mediterranean shore, as well as the monitoring of sea traffic along the oil-rich country's 1,770km coastline.

Although the weather is roughly similar to last year, the death toll is dramatically higher and could exceed 1,600 if the details are confirmed. According to the UN refugee agency, 3,500 lives were lost last year in the Mediterranean from the 219,000 who crossed the sea. So far this year 35,000 asylum seekers and migrants have arrived by boat in southern Europe.

Mr Renzi called an emergency meeting of Italy's foreign, defence and infrastructure ministers for Sunday evening to discuss the migration crisis.

He later called for an emergency meeting of the European Council to discuss the migration crisis. "We have arrested 976 traffickers and saved thousands of lives. We are asking not to be left alone," he said in a tweet.

The latest deaths are also likely to further intensify criticism of the decision last year taken by the Italian government, under pressure from other EU partners, to shut down a wide-ranging patrol of the Mediterranean known as Mare Nostrum.

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The Italian government has persistently asked the EU to increase the funding for Triton from its current level of €3m per month, but there is no consensus to do so with many European governments feeling pressure from anti-immigrant groups.

Save the Children is urging EU leaders to convene crisis talks in the next 48 hours to restart the search and rescue operations that ended late last year.

Justin Forsyth, Save the Children's chief executive, said: "The scale of what is happening in the Mediterranean isn't an accident, it's a direct result of our policy. How many more innocent children and their families must die before our leaders act? It is time to put humanity before politics and immediately restart the rescue.

"EU leaders must hold an emergency meeting in person or by phone within 48 hours to expedite this process and agree an immediate plan to stop these drownings. Europe cannot look the other way while thousands die off our shores."

The Libyan civil war has turned the country into the main hub for human traffickers seeking to take advantage of refugees searching for a better life in Europe from across the Middle East and Africa. In many cases migrants are subjected to abuse even as they pay hefty fees to the smugglers which often allegedly go to finance the feuding militias.

The Islamist-leaning authority in Tripoli, which calls itself the National Salvation Government, this month hired Raymond Associates, a New York-based consultancy, to advise it on border-security and migration policy along with other issues.

Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said restoring a "robust rescue-at-sea operation" was insufficient. "This disaster . . . also points to the need for a comprehensive European approach to address the root causes that drive so many people to this tragic end," he said. "I hope the EU will rise to the occasion, fully assuming a decisive role to prevent future such tragedies."

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