On Thursday 2 February, Libya's Prime Minister Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj said the EU was not giving his country enough money.
"I hope the EU mechanism for helping Libya will be more practical. I am not going to mention money because it is a very humble, low amount. We need to be serious" so as to be able to stabilise the situation, he said at the end of a meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk. Later that day, when questioned on this subject, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, alongside al-Sarraj, put more of an emphasis on the funds already allocated. "We discussed ways, not only of potentially increasing the support, but also of improving the disbursement of our financial support, of ensuring that (...) not only the money is transformed in projects – which is happening – but also that the projects are run in a way that benefits directly the Libyan citizens", she replied to a question from EUROPE. "Our common intention is not only to maximise the impact of the current support, but also to explore possible additional support in specific sectors", she added. In Mogherini's view, the most important aspect of the EU-Libya partnership is "Libya's governance policy, the security of its citizens and the country's economic and social situation".
Reiterating the EU's support to the government of national unity and to the efforts at finding an inclusive political settlement, Tusk urged "all Libyans to put aside their differences" so that the EU can be more involved with Libya.
It is now time to close the Italy-Libya route (Tusk)
The discussions also focused on the fight against terrorism and migration questions. Around 90% of the migrants who cross the central Mediterranean set off from Libya. "Europe has proved it is able to close down irregular routes of migration, as we did on the eastern Mediterranean route (...) Now it is time to close down the route from Libya to Italy", Tusk said, adding that the situation was not "sustainable either for Europe or for Libya".
In al-Sarraj's view, "the cooperation between the EU and Libya is of the utmost importance, and it will enable us to resolve the problem [of migration], to save migrants and to have them return to their countries of origin". He added that he had addressed "humanitarian, economic, security and social" aspects linked to migration with his partners. Al-Sarraj also announced that his country would respect international standards on the reception and management of migrants, although the situation in the detention camps in Libya is catastrophic.
In addition, the Libyan prime minister stated that he was committed to preserving Libyan sovereignty. "Each agreement should commit to preserving this important and non-negotiable aspect", he said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)