Brussels, 24/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The EU will not reportedly be involved in the dialogue that is taking place on 29 September at the initiative of Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Libya Bernardino Leon, under the aegis of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL - an ad hoc UN mission). EUROPE was given this news in Brussels by a safe source. The EU will, however, remain mobilised behind Leon's efforts. After approval of a new government in Tripoli led by Abdullah al-Thinni, and shortly after the consultation meeting in Madrid on 17 September that was organised by the Western Mediterranean group of countries (5+5 - see EUROPE 11160), Leon made progress on a dialogue being committed to by all parties in Libya. According to UNSMIL, the meeting, to which all Libyan parties are invited, must result in agreement and institutional unity being restored through an agreement on the internal regulation of the chamber of representatives and on other issues related to Libya's governance. The meeting will very likely take place in Libya itself.
The EU is part of the Group of 13 (Algeria, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, the EU and the UN) which has called for action to put an end to the institutional anarchy and for an end to the hostility. Meeting in a large hotel in New York before the UN General Assembly on 23 September, the foreign ministers of these countries gave assurances in a press release that there was “no military solution to the conflict” in Libya, where two governments and two parliaments are in dispute over political legitimacy.
In a media statement on Monday, Italy's Foreign Affairs Minister Federica Mogherini - who is soon to become the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - said that this initiative was “an opportunity not to be lost”. “We are at the beginning of a gradual stabilisation process that the parties must bring to a successful end for the good of all Libyans, with the support of the international community”. Italy, Mogherini stated, has “followed things closely over recent months and supported the peace efforts”. Her country is, she said, one of the few countries to have kept its embassy open in Libya.
France, which is also directly concerned and which had to renounce its “military option” in Madrid, is calling for “mobilisation” in support of the action organised by the United Nations secretary general and welcomes the idea of a dialogue meeting. According to the Foreign Affairs spokesperson in Paris, “in this difficult time that Libya is going through, this initiative aims to bring an end to the violence ahead of political transition being resumed. The resolution to the crisis can only be political. The formation of a new government from the elections on 25 June, led by Mr al-Thinni, must contribute to the success of the dialogue launched under the aegis of the United Nations”. Al-Thinni, who is recognised by the international community, has until now been contested by the Islamist militia (our translation throughout). (FB)