Brussels, 02/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The “Friends of Libya” meeting held in Paris on Thursday 1st September (a symbolic date 40 years after the coup d'état by Colonel Gaddafi) was described by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso as “historic”. Nearly 60 delegations from states and international organisations gathered to immediately release no less than $15 billion in frozen assets of the former regime, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced. “We are all committed to unfreezing the money held by yesterday's Libya to finance the development of today's Libya”, he added, as reported by AFP. The second noteworthy announcement - jointly made by President Sarkozy and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmusssen - was that NATO military operations would continue as long as there remains a threat for the civilian population from Colonel Gaddafi and the last remnants of his regime. The fate of Muammar Gaddafi was also evoked. If captured, he may be brought before the International Criminal Court or tried in Libya, this being a decision to be taken by the new Libyan government.
How can a country that has been devastated by war be quickly rebuilt and what role should the international community play? Debate focused on these two questions. Herman Van Rompuy, European Council President, said their aim was to support a transition to democracy and to bring the new Libya back within the international community. Speaking after the conference, Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General, identified three principles on which international aid to Libya should be based. It is a priority that such aid should be chosen and approved by the Libyans themselves. It should also be speedily and effectively coordinated. Ban Ki-moon also proposed that a UN mission should be rapidly sent to the country, the legal framework and size of which remains to be determined. There was no direct mention in the press releases and press conferences after the meeting of what the EU's role should be, despite the presence of the European trio - European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, and Commission President José Manuel Barroso. However, now that lifting of certain sanctions and restrictive measures against Libya has begun, several projects are beginning to take shape.
The day before the Paris conference, the EU sent a team to Tripoli to prepare the forthcoming opening of a European delegation and to provide support for the Libyan people during the transitional period, Catherine Ashton pointed out on Wednesday 31 August (see EUROPE 10443). Headed by Agostino Miozzo of Italy, who is crisis response director at the European External Action Service (EEAS), the mission is composed of four senior officials and diplomats and essentially aims to coordinate EU and member state action, in order to establish close cooperation with the National Transitional Council (NTC), which recently established its provisional government in the capital. After speaking with the Hungarian, Cypriot, French and British diplomats, Miozzo said during an interview with the Euronews channel that his priority was to prevent duplication, preventing what is superfluous in these difficult times of reorganisation and of new departure for Libya and its democratic life. During a press conference on Thursday 1st September, Catherine Ashton, who is EU foreign policy chief, said that the EU strategy towards Libya is based on four things: - ensuring humanitarian aid, security for the civilian population, and reform of the economic and political structure of the country. She also said that the EU will remain a strong and committed partner for the Libyan people and will continue to examine every possible measure to support Libya.
After the decision to unfreeze assets of 28 Libyan economic entities (see EUROPE 10443), the EU is working on proposing a coherent approach and above all making a place for itself in a dossier where it was previously not very present. The EEAS is now preparing to take part in security sector reform by providing a framework for police training, helping to set in place a programme for recovery of weapons and contributing to the security of borders, the EU high representative said. To date, there is little information regarding how this mission will be accomplished, as it is known that there is no intention to send representatives. A European team was sent to assess the situation on the ground last week. Another outstanding question is that of how coordination with NATO is to be assured. The latter is ready to envisage a new mission as part of security and defence sector reform after the fall of Gaddafi's regime. A joint EU approach should also cover the many national interests that member states wish to defend. Although the conflict is not yet over, the last areas of tension being located in the vicinity of Gaddafi's home town, Sirte, the commercial benefits that post-Gaddafi Libya will enjoy are already giving rise to growing rivalry. The affirmation by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini that “Italy will remain a privileged partner of Tripoli, so stay out of its hunting preserve” is an unfortunate sign of this. (J.K./transl.jl)