In Paris on Tuesday 29 May, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini met the Libyan prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj, Marshall Khalifa Haftar, the speaker of the Chamber of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, and the speaker of the Council of State, Khaled al-Mechri.
Aguilar Saleh, however, is subject to a visa ban and a freezing of his assets by the European Union.
Without answering this newsletter’s questions directly, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said that in line with a July 2015 decision of the Council of the EU, the member states may grant derogations to imposed measures when an individual travels to attend intergovernmental meetings or meetings hosted by the member state that then holds the OSCE presidency when political dialogue is held that directly aims to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Libya.
In the case in question, the Council should be notified in writing.
France, which hosted the international conference on Libya, does not currently hold the presidency of the OSCE. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)