The twenty-eight European Foreign Affairs Ministers, meeting in Brussels for an extraordinary Council meeting on Friday 10 January, mandated the Commission to "carry out diplomatic outreach" and "open dialogue to find a political solution" in Libya, announced the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
These actions will have to be carried out within the framework of the Berlin Process, Mr Borrell said, referring to "a strong consensus among ministers".
The German-led Berlin Process aims to bring together the largest possible number of states involved in Libya in order to prepare for the implementation of a dialogue between the two rival Libyan parties.
The Extraordinary Council, convened by Mr Borrell, was held in the presence of the UN Special Envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salamé. The latter again warned the EU and reported "increasing risks".
"The latest developments tell us that the situation could get out of control. We want to stand together and become more involved before the escalation occurs", Josep Borrell said at the press conference.
Mr Borrell told journalists about the various threats identified: the presence in Libya of terrorist fighters from Syria and Sudan, the influx of migrants who, in view of the situation, might choose to come to Europe, the risk of destabilisation of the whole region, and a threat linked to the involvement of Turkey and Russia in the conflict. "The whole central Mediterranean basin could see its geopolitics completely overhauled", the High Representative added on this subject.
"If we don't find a solution for Libya soon, Libya will become a second Syria. And this must not be the case", warned German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on his arrival at the Council. He will be in Moscow on Saturday 11 January to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Josep Borrell, too, intends to continue the dialogue with Russia. At the Council, he went back over his talks with "almost all the players" involved in the dossier - such as the Prime Minister of the Libyan government of national unity, Fayez el-Sarraj (see EUROPE 12399/1) or the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, - and announced that he would be exchanging "again with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov". (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki, intern)