Luxembourg, 20/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 20 June, the Foreign Affairs Council extended the mandate of the EUNAVFOR Med Sophia operation in the Mediterranean until 27 July 2017. The mission will accomplish two additional tasks - training the Libyan coastguard and helping implement the United Nations arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya.
Rear Admiral Enrico Credendino told press in Luxembourg that training the coastguard would comprise three phrases. The first phase will take place at sea, aboard a European ship, where up to 100 Libyans will be trained at the same time. “We will start the training in international waters to begin with, and then perhaps move into Libyan territorial waters”, he said, adding that the training would last 14 weeks. According to a European source, this training requires the naval operation to find an additional vessel able to accommodate the Libyan officers and trainers. The same source said that several member states had informally announced they were ready to respond to this need. The second phase of the training, which could be carried out at the same time as the first, should enable more people to be trained on land, in EU countries or third countries, including Libya. The third phase will consist of the practical set up of people that have taken part in the first two phases on the Libyan coastguard vessels.
Operation Sophia will also be authorised to enforce the arms embargo on Libya. The Security Council resolution of 14 June “authorises us to take measures on the high seas on suspect vessels, which means inspecting, boarding and re-routing these vessels to a port from a member state or third country”, Credendino stated (see EUROPE 11573).
However, a naval officer said no decision had yet been taken on either the port or the country where the arrested arms traffickers would be judged. According to this officer, the fight against arms trafficking will not begin before the force generation conference, which will take place in early July. He nevertheless said that that the exchange of information could begin immediately.
EUNAVFOR Med Sophia's area of operation will be extended eastwards as far as the town of Derna, which is near the Egyptian border and one of the destination towns for arms, according to a naval officer. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)