Brussels, 11/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 9 June, in Tripoli, the European Union and Libya continued their talks on a cooperation agreement opened in November 2008. Discussion is making “slow but sure” progress, according to one of the Community negotiators answering questions put to him by EUROPE. “Talks are complex and will take time”, the same source said. There is hope, but no certainty, that they will be concluded by the end of the year.
According to reports from Tripoli, Hugues Mingarelli, the deputy director general for external relations at the Commission, said there are still “problems regarding the re-entry of illegal immigrants”. Libya refuses to consider signing a readmission agreement and states its concern about the growing flow of sub-Saharan illegal migrants crossing its territory aimed for the Maltese and Italian coast.
Other issues have still to be discussed. Mingarelli told the media that these issues include the fight against discrimination, trade and investment. Libya does not, moreover, want any reference to be made in the agreement to the International Criminal Court, whose authority it does not recognise. These talks will be suspended until work resumes after the summer break - Ramadhan makes this a necessity - and the Libyan deputy foreign minister, Mohamed Tahar Sayala, has called on the EU to show proof of greater flexibility to facilitate matters by then.
He has also called on the EU to grant his country funding and equipment for the surveillance of maritime and land borders. A protocol of agreement will, moreover, be signed on the sidelines of the negotiation session allocating €60 million to Libya for the period 2011-2013 in order to continue aid to the health sector and complete Libyan efforts to combat illegal migration. (Libya is now allocated an National Indicative Programme, INP, like the countries signing association agreements). To date, the EU has only committed aid under an action plan against HIV for Benghazi. Under this programme launched in November 2004, the Commission had consented to three consecutive payments of €1 million in July 2005 and March 2006, and €500,000 in December 2006. These amounts were earmarked for modernising the Benghazi centre for immunology and the fight against infectious diseases (BCIDI), and to support for the development of a comprehensive virus treatment and prevention strategy. (F.B./transl.jl)