On Monday 16 July, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini announced the strengthening of European presence in Libya and of European support for the country's institutional capacities.
Mogherini went to Tripoli on Saturday 14 July to inaugurate the premises of the EU delegation in Libya and the premises of the EU assistance mission for the protection of the border (EUBAM Libya).
"This is a strong signal that we are giving. The EU, which has always been present through political and financial support, is now physically back in Tripoli", Mogherini said at the end of the Foreign Affairs Council, adding that the everyday work with the authorities, municipalities, civil society and UN agencies would be strengthened.
The EU currently finances projects in Libya for a maximum of €350 million.
Accelerating preparation for elections
Mogherini gave the EU's support to the ongoing work of UN Special Envoy Ghassam Salamé on the preparation of the elections to be held in December.
"We believe the work for the elections should be accelerated. We support the Electoral Commission and we believe that a proper constitutional and legal framework must be prepared before the elections take place", she said. She added that the Europeans wanted to know "how they could contribute to the elections being held in good conditions, in a well-defined constitutional context, elections that are suitably prepared, that enable all our political actors to accept the result".
Saying that the tension linked to the income from oil resources in the east of the country had been appeased (see EUROPE 12051), Mogherini announced the EU would be involved more, with the UN, so that "the income from oil can be distributed transparently and fairly".
Strengthening EunavforMed Sophia mission
In addition to the EU's support to the Libyan state, a European source said that migration had a significant place in the ministers' discussions on Monday.
Mogherini spoke to press about the EunavforMed Sophia operation in the Mediterranean. She said the EU is ready to start a new round of coastguard training and that some member states, in a European context, are in the process of providing the coastguards with the equipment they need.
Mogherini announced that she had proposed to the foreign affairs ministers, as she had to the heads of state and government at the end of June, that additional financial resources be allocated to the operation in order for it to be present in Tripoli and to be able to monitor the work of the coastguards that the operation has trained, notably to ensure the respect of human rights.
"There is always political support, but afterwards I don't see the money arriving", she said, hoping the resources would be available in the coming days or weeks (see EUROPE 12053).
And although the assessment of the EunavforMed Sophia operation is planned for September, Mogherini called for it to be accelerated with a view to very swift results. "I proposed that the mandate be broadened and target the checks carried out on the trafficking of oil", she added.
The EU's operation has had a mandate to monitor and gather information on the trafficking of illegal exports of oil from Libya since July 2017. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)