Brussels, 17/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 16 February, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that the EU and its partners are discussing how to take action on Libya. Mogherini, who is due to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry and Egypt's Minister for Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry on Thursday stated that the first issue to be tackled was “what sort of discussion, of initiative as part of the United Nations, is the most needed and the most effective for addressing the threat of Islamic State in Libya”. “The situation is complex and very dangerous”, she said during a press conference in Madrid. In Mogherini's view, all the parties in Libya should realise that Islamic State (IS) is a danger for the whole country and that it requires joint action to tackle this threat.
Mogherini met UN Special Envoy for Libya Bernardino Leon when she was in Madrid on Monday 16 February to discuss the “recent dramatic” developments and “the need to increase the diplomatic work to unite the different Libyan parties in a common effort to face the threat of Da'esh [IS]”. She and Leon will step up contacts “to guarantee the appropriate regional and international support to the UN-led process”, says a press release from the European External Action Service (EEAS).
Mogherini stated that all action should be conducted “as part of the UN, by the Libyans and in a regional context to frame any measure that could be taken”. She thus reiterated the need to talk to the countries of the region, mentioning Egypt, but also Tunisia and Algeria.
“It's not today that we will consider any form of contribution from the EU to any form of military action”, Mogherini stated. Her spokesperson, Catherine Ray, said that the EU was convinced that the military option was not a solution to the conflict, and that the EU encouraged political dialogue by all means possible. “We support the UN-led process”, she said.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday 17 February that the UN Security Council should adopt a resolution to enable international military intervention in Libya. “There is no choice - taking account of [the fact that] the Libyan people agree and are calling on us to take action to re-establish security and stability”, he told French radio station EUROPE 1. “I'm addressing this message to Europeans and to the French in particular. When I met the French president four months ago, he told me: 'Be careful, what is happening in Libya will transform this country into a ground that will threaten the whole region, not only Egypt but also the Mediterranean basin and Europe”, al-Sisi added. Egypt has bombed IS positions in Libya following the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Egypt by IS (our translation throughout). (Camille-Cerise Gessant)