Brussels, 19/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday 18 April, the EU's foreign affairs ministers stated the same evening that the EU was ready to support the government of national accord in Libya, alongside Libya's neighbouring countries, the United Nations and international community, to help this government, if requested, to re-establish peace and stability in Libya. They did not take any concrete decision, however.
During a joint meeting with their counterparts in defence, the foreign ministers spoke in a videoconference to Libya's Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. Sarraj mentioned requests for security training and also economic and humanitarian needs, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told EUROPE. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that Sarraj had underlined the issues of migration, security, the fight against Daesh, rebuilding the state, support to local authorities, humanitarian aid, economic recovery and Libyan jobs and social conditions. She added that her teams would set to work immediately on implementing some of these elements, but she did not give any more detail.
In the conclusions adopted at the end of the videoconference, the ministers say they are ready to offer support in the security sector. “Should a Libyan request be forthcoming and following consultations with the Libyans, a possible civilian CSDP mission could support Libyan efforts”, the ministers state. This would be “inter alia through advice and capacity building in the fields of police and criminal justice including on counter-terrorism, border management, countering irregular migration and smuggling of migrants and trafficking of human beings, as part of broader security sector reform support”, they say. According to the conclusions, this mission could draw upon the existing planning capacity of the EU Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya), which is currently based in Tunis.
In addition to this possible mission, the EU foreign ministers say that “further consideration will also be given to support that can be provided through EUNAVFOR MED Sophia”. This would be by enhancing its capacity to disrupt the business model of human smugglers and trafficking networks and to contribute to broader security in support to the legitimate Libyan authorities, “for example through potential capacity building for the Libyan coastguard, and the implementation of international law”. Mogherini said that the important issue was to act in Libyan territorial waters in order to save lives, arrest traffickers and neutralise their boats, and not who does it - Europeans through the Sophia operation or Libyans. She added that training the coastguard could be a means of capacity-building for the Libyans to do it themselves, perhaps with the EU, in Libyan territorial waters.
The EU will also examine how to strengthen its regional support, including through CSDP activities that already exist in the Sahel.
Picking up on the conclusions, Mogherini stated that the EU was ready to support the government of national accord in the management of migration and asylum, in close cooperation with the High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration. She said that Sarraj spoke to the European ministers about the need to work together on the management of migration flows and on complete approaches to migration, including work on border control and training and support for the coastguard. She added that €30 million is currently being used for migration programmes in Libya.
The EU foreign ministers also reiterate the EU's commitment to implementing a series of immediate and substantial measures for €100 million. Elsewhere, Mogherini announced the disbursement of €3.8 million in humanitarian aid through the facility for stability, under the aegis of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Mogherini stated that the European support would be implemented with Libyan ownership and in coordination and coherence with the rest of the international support, under the general coordination of the UN mission in Libya.
EU hails arrival of government in Tripoli. More generally in their conclusions, the ministers welcome the arrival of the Presidency Council in Tripoli on 30 March 2016. “The EU calls upon all stakeholders, particularly those in the region, to continue to urge all parties in Libya to engage constructively with the government of national accord (GNA) and all other institutions included in the Libyan political agreement”, the ministers state. They “look forward to the immediate, orderly and peaceful transfer of power to the GNA”, and urge existing militias and armed groups to respect its authority. The EU Foreign Affairs Council also urges the House of Representatives and other institutions, including the nascent State Council, to fulfil the roles assigned to them under the Libyan political agreement. A few minutes after the publication of the conclusions, the House of Representatives announced the postponement of its 18 April session on the vote of confidence for the government of national accord.
The European foreign ministers also condemn all attempts to disrupt the stabilisation of Libya and reiterate their grave concern at the growing threat of terrorism including by Daesh and its affiliates. “This threat highlights the urgent need for the GNA to unite Libyan forces from all regions”, they state in their conclusions. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)