Brussels, 12/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 11 June, the EU special representative to Libya, Bernardino Leon, underlined that the European Union had a “responsibility” towards Libya. In his opinion, this responsibility is due to the European states taking part in the military intervention in Libya in 2011, and also especially due to the fact that Libya is situated 350 kilometres off Europe's coast. “What happens [in Libya] has very strong repercussions on the EU”, he said during a press conference organised by the think tank European Council on Foreign Relations and by the Mission of Norway to the EU.
Leon believed it was important that the international community be more coordinated and he underlined the “very important” role that Libya's neighbours and the Gulf countries can play “to try and find a solution” - even if they have different visions of the situation. “There needs to be more internal coordination in the EU”, he added.
“The EU must play a central role”, said Heidi Johansen from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that a more effective mechanism was needed. “The best thing now would be a coordinated message”, she said.
Leon said that special envoys had been appointed not to weaken the United Nations and its mission (MANUL) on the ground, but to support them. On 11 June, the ministers from the EU and from the Arab League reaffirmed their “commitment to help Libya through interaction with the government under the aegis and coordination of MANUL”.
France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK have already appointed their envoys. “We are working on a position statement in order to try and have a sort of understanding of the cooperation to manage the most urgent issues - whatever the result of the elections”. Leon supported the organisation of parliamentary elections on 25 June, saying that, even if they did not enable all the issues to be resolved, they could contribute to creating a “new dynamic”.
In Leon's view, action must first be taken on crisis management. “Then progress needs to be made alongside the construction of the state, security, management of the economy and borders”, he added. “We should pay more attention to the presence of terrorism”, he also warned. Returning to the issue of the weapons in the country, he underlined the need for dialogue on this issue at several levels - an internal dialogue in the country, a dialogue with neighbouring countries and lastly an international strategy.
Leon stated that there were many players in Libya - be it the government, the General National Congress, the local authorities, the militia, the tribal groups or civil society - and that they should be taken into account in finding a solution to the country's problems. “This will not work if a group feels outside the system”, he said, stating that none of these groups was strong enough to impose a solution on the others. “We are going to have to find the right solution - otherwise the EU will have problems”, he concluded (our translation throughout). (CG)