Mass drowning prompts talk of EU search-and-rescue operation

The EU is mulling options to launch a fully-fledged search and rescue operation following the reported drowning of some 700 EU-bound migrants over the weekend.

Speaking on the behalf of Latvia’s EU presidency, interior minister Rihards Kozlovskis on Monday (20 April) said “options should be explored for setting up a full-fledged search and rescue operation of the EU”.

But Kozlovskis’ call for a EU-wide rescue mission is likely to meet resistance from national governments like the ...