More than 24,680 people were intercepted by the Libyan coastguard as they tried to leave, and brought back. And our objective, our joint objective, is to help to improve the situation of the people stranded in Libya,” commission spokesman Peter Stano said. We try to address them with the partners in Libya, with the international partners,” Stano told reporters in Brussels. But Stano denied suggestions that the EU might be paying to keep migrants in Libya. Italy, where most people leaving Libya arrive, has received at least 15 million euros ($16.3 million) in EU money to fund migration and border control work there.
