Foreign Ministers and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy called for calm and the resumption of political negotiations on Monday 8 April.
“I call on Libya’s leaders, in particular General Haftar, to end military activities and to return to the negotiating table under the auspices of the United Nations. We are well advised to avoid further deterioration of the situation”, stressed the High Representative at the end of the ‘Foreign Affairs’ Council in Luxembourg. “The political leadership and the military [...] need to take responsibility to deliver on a peaceful transition”, she warned. Earlier in the day, she said that “the challenge now is for the different Libyan factions and leaders to overcome their personal interests and serve the Libyan people”.
According to Ms Mogherini, “it is in the interest of all Member States and the Libyans to prevent the current military escalation from developing even further to the level of a civil war”.
The situation deteriorated even as the ministers were addressing the Libyan issue, with a fighter aircraft attacking the only operational airport in Tripoli and intensifying fighting between Haftar's forces and rival militias. “This is not the first time we have experienced this fait accompli on the military field that could perhaps lead to political changes”, said Austrian Minister Karin Kneissl on her arrival at the EU Council. According to her, “Haftar obviously has what is missing in Libya: a clear, hierarchical, functioning fighting force. On the other side, in Tripoli, we have the Sarraj government, which is recognized by the international community [...] and in a difficult situation. This situation is first and foremost defined militarily, and the question is how this legitimacy can be materially transposed, so that the government does not fall”, she summarized.
Mrs Mogherini underlines European unity
At the end of the meeting, the High Representative insisted on the unity of the Twenty-eight. According to her, while there had been divisions in the past - notably between France and Italy - the ministers realised that a common EU message was needed “at a time when other regional actors seem to support the UN-led peace process in a less 'convincing' way, to use a euphemism”. “The responsibility on our shoulders to show our support for the UN's efforts is extreme”, she added. The High Representative asserted that, “united, the EU will reach out to the parties and to the regional players” to push for peace and to support the UN Special Envoy, Ghassam Salamé, with whom Ms Mogherini met before the EU Council.
Upon his arrival at the EU Council, Luxembourg Minister Jean Asselborn put the emphasis on the United Nations. According to him, the Security Council (UNSC) must be “encouraged to support a binding measure” to stop the violence, because a civil war would be “catastrophic”. Mr Asselborn therefore expressed his astonishment at the UNSC’s silence.
Ms Mogherini also called for the full implementation of the humanitarian truce to allow for the evacuation of civilians and the wounded from the city. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)