Denmark will send a Challenger aircraft to survey the seas in an effort to help alleviate the problem of migration in the Mediterranean.
Initially, the Danish contribution will amount to a total of 40 days of aerial surveillance and will be linked to the European border agency Frontex.
“The migratory flow in the Mediterranean is a serious concern,” the defence minister, Nicolai Wammen, told DR.
“Denmark has the will and the ability to help in this matter, and therefore we will provide our own contribution.”
Denmark will contribute 22 people to take part in the operations working alongside Frontex, which is in charge of security at the EU’s external borders.
More deaths in the Mediterranean
This year alone, it is estimated that more than 1,800 people have lost their lives whilst attempting to reach the coasts of Europe via the Mediterranean.
A month ago, a boat capsized off the Libyan coast and 800 people lost their lives.
Prepared to use military force against traffickers
EU defence and foreign ministers are ready to approve the framework for a naval operation aimed at decreasing the number of boats used to transport migrants across the Mediterranean.
Denmark will not participate in the military operation due to military reservations, but will instead contribute to EU border controls in the Mediterranean.
Denmark has also offered contributions in the form of off-road vehicles from the Emergency Management Agency and container-based office modules for operations in the Poseidon Sea in the waters of Greece.
