Brussels, 18/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - EU heads of state or government said again on Friday 18 March that they were ready to support the Government of National Accord, “as the sole legitimate government of Libya”, to prevent a new migration route to Europe opening up.
At the request of the Government of National Accord, which has yet to be approved by the Libyan parliament, the EU and its member states stand ready to help restore stability in the country, fight terrorism and manage migration in the central Mediterranean. “We have to prevent alternative routes from Libya to Italy from opening up”, stated German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In a letter to EU foreign affairs ministers dated 12 March, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini estimated that “there are more than 450,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Libya who could be potential candidates for migration to Europe”.
On the sidelines of the European Council, Mogherini, French President François Hollande, Merkel and the prime ministers of Italy, Spain, the UK and Malta discussed the assistance that the EU could provide to Libya. This assistance could consist of training for coastguards and police, provision of support for municipalities or even moving the EU naval operations in the Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR Med Sophia) into the next phase of its mandate so that it can operate in Libyan territorial waters. These operations “can only be conducted in international waters for the moment. To be effective, they have to be carried out as close as possible to the coastline. This presupposes that the Libyan government authorise operations, so avoiding people trusting to fortune in flimsy boats and ending, sadly, in misfortune”, said Hollande. The head of the Italian government Matteo Renzi also argued that it would be “a mistake to intervene militarily without an explicit request to do so” from the legitimate Libyan government.
A European source announced that, on the initiative of the high representative, EU foreign affairs and defence ministers would meet for dinner on Monday 18 April to discuss the situation in Libya. The dinner will take place in Luxembourg following the formal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council and ahead of the Defence Council meeting on 19 April. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Emmanuel Hagry, Aminata Niang, Mathieu Bion et Elodie Lamer)