Brussels, 04/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - Implementing the EU's naval operation - EUNAVFOR Med - to break up the business model of human traffickers and smugglers in the Mediterranean will be complicated. The discussions at the United Nations are currently on hold and the legitimate government of Tobruk is sceptical. On 18 March, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said she hoped the decision to launch the operation would be taken at the Foreign Affairs Council on 22 June.
The United Nations Security Council resolution may not have been adopted by that date. Without this resolution, not all the phases of the operation can be launched. On Thursday 4 June, a UN source told EUROPE that the Security Council discussions were “on hold” while waiting for the member states to agree on how to implement the mission and while waiting for progress in the negotiations with the Libyans. “Once these two points are unblocked, the negotiations will resume” in New York, the source added, saying that “for the moment” there were just fairly restricted discussions and that no precise text had been put forward.
The negotiations with the Libyans could take time. While Mogherini met Libya's Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Dairi on Wednesday 3 June, and the discussion was - according to her spokesperson - “very constructive”, with contacts that would continue “in the coming weeks” - the Libyan ambassador to the UN seemed resolute on 2 June. “Libya's position is clear. As long as the EU and certain other countries do not deal just with the legitimate government as the sole representative of the Libyan people, they will not obtain consent from our side”, Ibrahim Dabbashi told French news agency AFP. “I don't think the resolution will even come about”, he added.
Mogherini said on several occasions that the EU was looking for a partnership “with all the Libyan authorities concerned”. Asked about the possibility for the EU to hold a dialogue only with the government of Tobruk, Mogherini's spokesperson repeated that the EU encouraged the formation of a national unity government.
Elsewhere, on Thursday 4 June Algeria's Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra confirmed the convergence of views with the EU on Libya. This was affirmed by Mogherini at a press conference. Lamamra nevertheless underlined that “the solution would be Libyan” and not from outside, and he stated that the Libyan parties concerned are meeting in Algiers to discuss this. “Failure is not an option”, he said. The neighbouring countries are also due to meet in N'Djamena (Chad) on 5 June and to bring their support to UN Special Envoy Bernardino Leon, while setting aside any ideas of military intervention. (Camille-Cerise Gessant with Fathi B'Chir)