Brussels - Foreign Affairs ministers of the European Union agreed at a meeting on Monday to restrict the export and supply of inflatable boats - or dinghies - and outboard motors to Libya.

More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea since the start of the year, and 84 per cent have arrived in Italy from Libya by boat, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In an EU statement the measure was described as "an effort to further disrupt the business model of people smugglers and human traffickers."

But with exports or sales of these goods not banned for civilian use, such as by fishermen, the effectiveness of these sanctions could be limited.

Moreover, Libya's neighbouring countries remain a source of dinghies and outboard motors for smugglers.