EU ready to destroy smuggler boats at sea

The EU wants to step up its boat-sinking operation against smugglers in the Mediterranean sea.

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said on Thursday (3 September) that the EU's naval operation - EUnavfor Med - is now ready to move from a surveillance-only phase to one that seizes and destroys boats in international waters.

"The intelligence that was gathered throughout phase one highlighted that, on at least 16 occasions in these last five weeks, we could have gone a...