Amsterdam, 05/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 5 February, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, made it quite clear that there were no plans for Libya other than the plan to set in place a government of national unity.
“I have a very simple rule. You don't talk about plan B if you think that plan A is going to work”, she told a press conference following the informal Defence ministerial meeting in Amsterdam. Mogherini stressed that the EU and the international community were bringing pressure to bear, through the United Nations, to ensure that Libyans succeed in uniting and doing what they themselves agreed to do. The Libyan Presidential Council, which is led by the Prime Minister designate, Fayez el-Sarraj, started discussions in Morocco on Thursday 4 February, in order to be able to put forward a new government of national unity after the first cabinet was rejected by the Parliament of Tobruk on 25 January.
The High Representative went on to say that the formation of the government was the best way to fight the terrorist organisation Daesh, which is developing in the country. According to the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, there are between 3,000 and 5,000 Daesh fighters in Libya. “The government needs to be set in place, the Parliament must support the government and on that basis, the national community gives its support. If the new government is in place (…), this will allow it both to regain Tripoli and to have normal politics, to resume control over its territory and fight terrorists. This is what has to be done”, he explained on his arrival at the informal Foreign Affairs ministerial meeting which was held after the informal Defence meeting. “We need to work quickly”, he added, when asked about the interim actions to be taken. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)