Recalling in particular that NATO, via its Sea Guardian operation, was supporting Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean, the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, proposed on Tuesday 21 January that the Alliance help the EU “to enforce the arms embargo in Libya”.
The EU’s Operation Sophia has a UN mandate for this purpose and could be used to implement the results of the Berlin Conference (see EUROPE 12407/1).
Before the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on ‘Foreign Affairs’ and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, Mr Stoltenberg recalled that, “for good or ill”, Libya set an example of how the EU and NATO could cooperate, recalling that in 2009, France and the United Kingdom had launched a military operation, a “European campaign”, in Libya before calling on the NATO command structure. This shows that, if necessary, “Europe and North America can work together”, he said.
The NATO Secretary General also returned to the crisis in Iraq, regretting that the Alliance’s training mission is currently suspended, as is that of the anti-Daech coalition there. “I hope it will resume as soon as possible. Iraq needs support”, he said, fearing Daech's return. According to Stoltenberg, the coalition and NATO could work in coordination on training activities, adding that the Alliance could strengthen its action. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)