On Thursday 28 June, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) spoke out against the announcement of General Khalifa Haftar to have the oil installations controlled by his forces passed to the control of the national oil corporation resulting from the provisional government, and to be no longer under the control of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC).
"Recent statements calling for oil exports from the Eastern oil terminals to be approved by entities other than the legitimate NOC are (...) unacceptable and contravene UN Security Council Resolutions", the EEAS spokesperson said. "Any illegal action that may jeopardise the country's oil industry must be avoided", the spokesperson warned, adding that the oil infrastructure, production, and export need to remain under the exclusive control of the NOC, with all oil revenues transferred to the Central Bank of Libya.
Stating that the EU and the rest of the international community have consistently opposed any attempt to sell or purchase Libyan oil outside the official channels managed by the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), the EEAS spokesperson warned that the EU, together with its member states, would continue to counter any attempt to trade Libyan oil outside the internationally recognised official channels. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)