In the last few months Frontex started two patrol missions: one called ‘Hera’, for controlling illegal immigration towards Canary Islands, and the other, most famous, called ‘Nautilus II’ (a follow-up to the Nautilus I of last year). Mission Nautilus II, officially launched at the end of June, aimed for preventing illegal immigration (i.e. suppression of the illegal immigration) to Italy and Spain.

This mission was meant to last until October and also Greece, Germany, France, Spain and Malta took part in it. The mission has been suspended due to lack of resources, as Friso Rascam Abbing, spokesman of the EU Commissioner responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini, said. Frattini underlined that both the EU Commission and Frontex agency are satisfied with the results achieved, pointing out the key role of the mission as a deterrent to illegal immigration. Navy ships, coast guard’s boats, helicopters: these are the means used to fight the small boats of the immigrants off in the Mediterranean.

The success of the mission, said Abbing, is shown by the fact that in July the illegal landings in the area of the operation have reduced by 50% with respect to June. This has been pointed out by Italy’s new chief of police as well, A.Manganelli. It is however arguable that the migrants are trying to avoid the patrols by even more difficult courses, smaller boats which are not seen on the screen of a radar, thus with a higher risk of accidents.

However Abbing claimed that both Commissioner Frattini and President of the European Commission Josè Manuel Barroso will try to make the patrols in ‘high risk’ areas, such as the Strait of Sicily and Canary Islands, permanent.

The risks of this mission, approved by Frattini and Amato, nearly representing a proper ‘Rome-Brussel axis’, are highlighted by the several sea accidents, which have never been so frequent in such a short period of time, i.e. from July, when the patrols of the Frontex agency have started next to the Libian coasts. This would explain why the landings in Italy have sharply decreased.

We have not yet offcial results about the Nautilus II mission, but many have questioned its legitimacy: EU has forced back many potential political refugees to Libya, country which has not signed the Geneva convention relating the status of refugees and political asylum seekers. Italy contributed in violating the Convention, as it already did with the mass repatriations from Lampedusa: the Convention explicitly forbids repatriations of asylum seekers to countries which are not part of the agreement, such as Libya (non-refoulment principle, Art. 33).

It is necessary to underline the existence of other, sometimes secret, agreements on repatriations between Libya and Italy from 2004 on, renewed by Prodi government, with D’Alema’s visits to Tripoli. We know that Berlusconi government provided Gheddafi with means, money, even sacks for death bodies and money to build detention camps for those migrants who were forced back from Italy and Europe. In March 2005, Libyan government admitted that at least 106 of the people expelled from Italy have died. Today, we do not know how many people have died in Libya and in the repatriantions to other African countries.