by Our Foreign Desk

PLANS for a European Union naval response to the Mediterranean migrant crisis could be approved within weeks, officials said yesterday.

EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Federica Mogherini said she expected a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers to approve yesterday’s proposals for a military response to people-trafficking.

Ms Mogherini said that with the decision for the operation taken, the EU nations “can move forward with the planning and possibly launch the operation in the coming weeks,” which would coincide with the high season for migrant crossings.

However, member nations would have to assign warships for deployment and draw up a definite plan before the scheme could go ahead.

Some aspects of the plan, such as proposals to sink captured boats, would require UN approval.More than 10,000 refugees from Libya’s civil war have been rescued from Mediterranean waters in recent weeks.

The International Organisation for Migration estimates that nearly 1,830 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean this year compared to 207 in the same period last year.

Ms Mogherini also raised the prospect of Nato forces being involved in the plan.

The military alliance has not yet been approached for help, but secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said the it stood “ready to help if there is a request.”

Chaos has reigned in Libya since the Nato-backed coup against the government in 2011, with rival factions shelling cities and the persecution of black citizens and immigrants.