Brussels, 13/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - The fighting in Libya continues and a national unity government remains difficult to form, but the EU has described the signature of the peace agreement in Skhirat (Morocco) on Saturday 11 July by one of the two main rival parties as “an important step towards re-establishing peace and stability in Libya”.
After several months of negotiations under the aegis of the UN, several Libyan parties - including the government based in Tobruk (the only government recognised by the international community and the authorities of Misrata) - have initialled an agreement on exiting the crisis, which in particular draws out the mechanisms for decision-making until a new constitution comes to light. Nevertheless, the Tripoli parliament, which is backed by a coalition of militia who are partly Islamist, has refused to sign the agreement although it provides for the formation of a national unity government and the holding of new elections.
The parties that signed this agreement “have taken the future of Libya in their hands, in a responsible and courageous way”, said High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on Sunday 12 July. “I hope that those who have not yet initialled the agreement could display a similar spirit of consensus and responsibility, in the interest of the Libyan people”, she added - thus underlining that the door remains open for the Tripoli parliament to participate in this reconciliation effort. She stated that the EU is ready to support the Libyan authorities quickly if they manage to form a national unity government. The EU could thus “immediately help with capacity and institution building to national and local authorities” so that the Libyan state can function again, Mogherini said. (Jan Kordys)