On Thursday 27 July, a spokesperson for the European Commission, Carlos Martin Ruiz de Gordejuela, announced that the commander of the Eunavfor Med Sophia operation in the Mediterranean Sea, Enrico Credendino, the head of the EU delegation in Libya, Bettina Muscheidt, and the head of EUBAM Libya, Vincenzo Tagliaferri, would visit Tripoli on 1 August to meet the Libyan authorities.
This meeting is expected to take place as part of the ongoing work on a new operation plan. The EU is working with the Libyan authorities on implementing the new Eunavfor Med Sophia missions that were attributed when the operation's mandate was recently extended until the end of 2018. These missions include monitoring Libyan coastguards after they have been trained by Europeans (see EUROPE 11836).
When asked about a Libyan request for help from the operation in Libyan territorial waters, like the request Tripoli made of Italy, Ruiz de Gordejuela did not respond. "We are not ready to move on to a new phase", he nevertheless stated, reiterating that moving on to a new phase of the operation (Phase 2b, which enables intervention in Libyan territorial waters) would need an invitation from the Libyan authorities, in connection with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
On Wednesday 26 July, Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni announced that Libya's Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj had sent him a letter "to ask the Italian government for a technical solution with Italian naval vessels in the common fight in Libyan waters against human traffickers".
According to an Italian government source, Italy wants to deploy several ships in Libyan waters by the end of August, Reuters reported on Thursday. A mission plan is thus likely to be submitted for approval by the Italian government on Friday, with the parliamentary vote needed to approve it possibly taking place next week. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)