Brussels, 13/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - Talks with the Libyan authorities have failed to lead to progress on Libya's involvement in the EU's joint coastal patrols (Operation Jason) to be launched in the near future to monitor the waters on the coast of Malta and Italy, a high-ranking European Commission official has revealed. There has been "no progress" in negotiations with Tripoli over its participation in Operation Jason, but "we are still counting on their cooperation", because they need help, he added. "Negotiations have not, for all that, been closed, and informal negotiations are still going on", the source continued, stressing that the EU is soon to "launch an appeal to the 25 to come to Libya's aid", with a particular view to making its southern borders secure, as this is the main passage point for migrants fleeing their country of origin.
Last week, the Libyan minister for European affairs, Abdoulati Alobidi, told the Italian press that he had sent a list to Commissioner Franco Frattini to remind him of Libyan needs: helicopters, all-terrain vehicles, night vision equipment and high-speed launches. In a speech to mark the seventh anniversary of the African Union, Libyan President Mouammar Kadhafi said that Europe would need to spend 10 million dollars a year on Africa if it wanted to stop illegal immigration.