NATO could help EU migrant mission given political will-commander

May 20, 2015 7:23 PM

BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - NATO could help the European Union's efforts to counter migrant-smuggling across the Mediterranean if national leaders took a political decision to have it do so, its deputy military commander said on Wednesday.

The European Union agreed on a naval mission on Monday to target gangs smuggling migrants from Libya.

Some 51,000 migrants have entered Europe by crossing the Mediterranean this year, with 30,500 coming via Italy. About 1,800 have drowned in the attempt, the U.N. refugee agency says.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni had suggested on Monday that NATO could contribute to the EU operation by modifying its existing counter-terrorism naval mission in the Mediterranean, called Operation Active Endeavour.

"There are all sorts of things that could be done by NATO ... The key thing is will there be a political will to do so and a political decision to materially contribute?" the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, British General Adrian Bradshaw, told reporters.

"It is true we do have a presence in the Mediterranean and of course there is an obligation under international law to respond to people in distress ... We are ready, subject to political direction, to do more," he said.

While there was generally a division of labour between NATO and the EU, "in the context of maritime operations in the Mediterranean, where NATO vessels are transiting through or are present for other reasons, then there might well be efficiencies to be delivered and we need to explore the possibilities," Bradshaw said.

Under Operation Active Endeavour, set up after the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, NATO ships patrol the Mediterranean and monitor shipping to help deter terrorism.

The EU wants to capture smugglers and destroy their boats off the Libyan coast to help it tackle the rising number of migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. It wants U.N. authorisation to operate close inshore to Libya, a country that has descended into anarchy since Western powers backed a 2011 revolt that ousted Muammar Gaddafi. (Reporting by Adrian Croft and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Tom Heneghan)