Brussels, 24/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - With every reason to believe that the regime of Muammar Gaddafi is on the point of collapse, the EU is stepping up a gear in its preparations to have ready a strategy for Libya. This strategy covers four areas of support: - provision of medical supplies and fuel to Tripoli; - assistance in ensuring the safety of civilians; - support for economic recovery; - support for the development of democracy and the rule of law, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton at a press briefing on Tuesday 23 August. To that end, an EU fact-finding team is being readied to assess the needs on the ground, she said. The European strategy will seek, above all, to develop projects in close collaboration with the United Nations which will have a key role to play in international community action in Libya. Having spoken to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his Special Envoy for Libya Abdul Ilhan al-Khatib, Ashton suggested that a meeting of the Cairo Group should be held, which brings together the African Union, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the EU, under the leadership of the UN, in New York on Friday 26 August, “to make sure that we have a coordinated approach to how the international community responds”. The issue of security was not addressed at any length, but it will be important, above all, to manage the numbers of light arms in circulation, secure the borders and help the rapid redeployment of police and gendarmerie. Ashton argued that there could be no doubt that “people feeling secure in the country is fundamental to the future”. NATO could play an important role in the reform of the security and defence sector, said the organisation's spokeswoman Oana Lungescu on Tuesday 23 August, though making clear that NATO had no plans for any land deployment.
In terms of economic factors, priority must be given to the financial situation of the National Transition Council (NTC), it must have sufficient resources “making sure that people are paid, civil servants and police officers”, and that “there are supplies in the shops”, Ashton said. Libyan assets will, then, shortly be unfrozen by the EU, as soon as the UN Security Council has begun the necessary steps. The high representative also underlined that one of the urgent issues will be to get the infrastructure of the Libyan economy working again, for example, through building the rule of law, that is, a political system which respects the separation of powers to prevent fraud and corruption. European projects for Libya are beginning to take shape. Following meetings on Tuesday 23 August of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Crisis Platform and of the Political and Security Committee, which brings together the ambassadors of all 27 member states to the EU, Ashton stated that “what we're doing in Brussels is acting, if you like, as a sort of clearing house for member states' work, enabling and supporting them in helping the people of Libya and using all the different European Union instruments to provide that support as quickly as possible”. (J.K./transl.rt)