EU defense chiefs discuss Mediterranean operation, EU-NATO cooperation

European chiefs of defense on Tuesday had an update on EU naval operation in the Mediterranean and EU-NATO cooperation at an EU military committee meeting.

Operation Sophia Commander Rear Admiral Enrico Credendino told the meeting that, since 2015, the operation against human smuggling in the Mediterranean has contributed to saving more than 29,000 people.

They also disabled 345 vessels used by criminal networks and transferred 99 suspected smugglers and traffickers to the Italian authorities, according to the results issued after the meeting.

As part of the EU approach to stop human smugglers in the Mediterranean, the European Union launched a military operation, namely EUNAVFOR MED - Operation Sophia in the southern central Mediterranean in June of last year.

At the two-day meeting, chiefs of defense also had a discussion on EU-NATO cooperation in the field of capability development and the work on the implementation of EU-NATO Joint Declaration, which was signed in the margins of NATO's Warsaw Summit. Endit