Brussels, 19/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Monday 18 May, the internationally recognised Libyan government - the so-called Tobruk government - rejected the EU's naval operation for fighting against people traffickers in the Mediterranean.
“All military action must be launched with the cooperation of the Libyan authorities”, government spokesperson Hatem el-Ouraybi told French news agency AFP. “The military option to confront the boats in Libyan waters or beyond is inhumane”, he added. Nevertheless, the Libyan government spokesperson did not seem categorical. While “the government will not accept any violation of Libyan sovereignty”, it will be “able to accept” this plan “if it is coordinated” with the internationally recognised government of Libya.
On 18 May, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini stated that the EU was seeking a partnership with the Libyan authorities, saying that this could facilitate a resolution in the United Nations Security Council - which is needed in order to be able to break the traffickers' economic model (see EUROPE 11316). In order to be able to take action in territorial waters, the EU needs a Security Council resolution or a letter of invitation from the Libyan authorities, but some member states would like both. During a press meeting on 11 May, Mogherini had described the response she received from the different people she spoke to in the different Libyan parties as “positive and constructive”.
The Council decision on 18 May 2015 “on a European Union military operation in the Southern Central Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED)” was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 19 May. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)