On 30 September, Chatham House published analysis by Senior Research Fellow Tim Eaton, titled ‘Libya shows ‘smash the gangs’ is not always a useful slogan on migration policy’. In his article, Eaton argues that Italy’s approach to illegal migration flows from Libya offers a ‘cautionary tale’ for the UK, questioning the effectiveness of European-Libyan cooperation. And while crossings of the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy reduced from their peak of 162,895 in 2016 to 12,977 in 2018, he argues that the understanding with Libya also comes at significant political cost to Italian and broader European policy. Eaton concludes that an effective UK policy towards illegal migration requires a political, as well as a criminal justice based approach.
Read the full analysis here.