On Friday 23 June, the leader of the European Parliament's GUE/NGL group, Gabi Zimmer, criticised the decision of the EU heads of state and government at the European Council to accelerate the training and provision of equipment for the Libyan coastguard.
"Every euro we give to Libya benefits the militias which already run the coastguards and detention centres for refugees. The EU is therefore co-financing the torture, rape and slavery which are carried out systematically by these militias", Zimmer stated in a press release. "Instead of urgently trying to find safe and legal ways for the EU to help those in need, the heads of government are pinning their hopes on the Libyan coastguard to keep refugees out of the EU”, she said.
As announced by EUROPE (see EUROPE 11813), the European Council said in its conclusions that the coastguard's training and provision of equipment, which are key components of the EU approach on migration, "should be accelerated". However, on arriving at the European Council on Thursday 22 June, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that the EU would like to monitor the coastguard. "We will examine how to monitor the work of the Libyan coastguard, especially as regards its effectiveness in saving lives, fighting traffickers, and in terms of human rights and living conditions in Libya", she said. Asked by EUROPE what "monitoring the work" of the coastguard meant, EEAS staff were not immediately able to give a detailed answer to this question. Many NGOs, as well as the special envoy for Libya, Martin Kobler, have criticised the way in which the Libyan coastguard works – which reportedly makes boats laden with migrants sink (see EUROPE 11812).
The EU has so far trained 110 Libyan coastguards and is waiting for new names from the Libyan government of national unity to be able to check whether or not they are suitable for training before this begins. Elsewhere, four Libyan vessels detained by Italy have already been returned to Libya, and according to Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, a fifth vessel is due to be returned by mid-July. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)