Strasbourg, 08/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - Ahead of the extraordinary European Council of 11 March, at the beginning of the plenary session which began in Strasbourg on Tuesday 8 March, the European Parliament's attention is completely focused on the Libyan crisis. Through the intermediary of the Liberals, two representatives of the National Transition Council formed by the opposition in Libya were due to meet Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva on Tuesday, then High Representative Catherine Ashton on Wednesday. At the same time, MEPs sought to find common ground on what measures should be taken for Libya and on a draft resolution to be adopted on Thursday.
Two representatives of the Libya's Transition Council formed by the Libyan opposition in Benghazi, the former minister for the national development plan, Mahmoud Jebril, and the former ambassador for Libya in Egypt, Ali Al-Esawi, were in Strasbourg on Tuesday at the invitation of the president of the ALDE Group at the European Parliament, the former Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt. They were to brief Community bodies on developments in the situation in Libya. Jebril and Al-Esawi were, on Tuesday, to meet Commissioner Georgieva before talks with Catherine Ashton on Wednesday. The high representative is expected in Strasbourg for a debate on Libya before the European summit on Friday. The two representatives of the Libyan opposition are also due to meet with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé on Wednesday.
While MEPs are to discuss, on Wednesday, what measures the EU should take to assist the Libyan opposition and determine their position in a resolution to be adopted on Thursday, the leaders of the political groups showed how divided they were on Tuesday. Although the leaders of the Greens and Liberals, Daniel Cohn-Bendit of France and Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium, urged for a no-fly zone to be set in place to prevent the armed forces of the Libyan head of state, Muammar Gaddafi, from bombarding the opposition, the leader of the Social-Democrats, Martin Schulz of Germany, took a more cautious line, specifying that a UN mandate and participation of the Arab League are essential preconditions for setting up a no-fly zone.
“Our group will call on the high representative to take the initiative to call for a no-fly zone”, Cohn-Bendit told the press, saying ironically: “If Gaddafi wins, it will be business as usual, and we shall be doing business with him”. “We must give our support to the rebels, and get into contact with the transition authority in Benghazi whose spokesmen are calling for a no-fly zone. I expect the European Council to define the EU's objective, being that of ensuring Gaddafi does not win. We must know what we want. The Libyans want to get rid of Gaddafi. We must find ways to support those who are fighting against him and prevent a civil war”, the French MEP said. The “no-fly zone should have been decided a long while ago. It would be along the right lines”, added Guy Verhofstadt.
Martin Schulz, however, said: “We must find a middle road between our wish to give immediate assistance and military intervention. Any intervention without UN approval is impossible. And we must also have the opinion of the Arab League”. Schulz also made an appeal for Malta, Cyprus and Italy which, he said, should not be left to deal with the problem of refugees on their own. “If the 27 member states share the burden, it will be easier for these countries to find solutions”, he stressed.
The leader of the Conservatives, Joseph Daul of France, promised for his part to work towards “total coordination” between the governments of the EPP Group, the high representative and commissioners concerned by the Libyan crisis. Shortly after, his Italian colleague, Mario Mauro, told the press of the Italian conservative delegation's wish to “reconcile political urgency and humanitarian urgency”, as, he pointed out, some delegations want to make a distinction between these two necessities. (E.H./transl.jl)