Everything must be done to prevent migrant deaths' - EU

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 13 - Everything possible must be done to prevent migrant deaths at sea, European Commission spokesperson Dana Spinant said on Monday, the day after a boat carrying 47 refugees and migrants capsized off Libya leaving 30 people feared dead.
    "The idea that every life lost at sea is one life lost too many and that we must all do everything we can to prevent this from happening again is always on the mind" of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Spinant told journalists in Brussels.
    The 17 survivors were rescued by the merchant ship Froland and will be disembarked in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo later on Monday.
    "Part of the EU's support to Libya is to try to stabilize the situation and enhance its border management capabilities," said spokesperson Ana Pisonero.
    To this end the Libyan coast guard will be receiving "more patrol boats", she added.
    "There is clearly a need to strengthen Libyan capacity, because they do not always have the means (to manage the borders)", she added.
    "When there are people in danger it is mandatory to intervene," said Pisonero.
    European coordination in relation to migrant boats in the Mediterranean "does not include operational discussions" about rescue operations, added Spinant. "The European Commission has neither the capacity nor the expertise to intervene," she continued.
    "Dismantling the activities of migrant traffickers is something we all want to pursue at the European level," said Spinant in answer to a question about a new clamp-down in Italy against traffickers and smugglers introduced by a recent government decree.
    "They are reckless people who are getting rich on the back of desperation and the risks migrants take to reach Europe.
    "This is a goal that very clearly we all share," she concluded.
    (ANSA).