Libya security high on agenda for EU foreign affairs summit

EU leaders pledged to step up efforts to support Libya yesterday, but stopped far short of endorsing a civilian or military mission to the region.

The political situation in the north African country was discussed by EU leaders on the second day of an EU summit yesterday, following a discussion among foreign affairs ministers earlier this week.

On Monday EU foreign ministers considered plans to send a security mission to Libya if a national unity government is formed, though most member states are opposed to the idea.

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini – a former Italian foreign minister – has been leading a drive to prioritise Libya as a foreign policy issue for the European Union.

Italy, which has a long colonial history with Libya, has been calling for further action to deal with the growing threat of extremism and migration in a country which is struggling to form a cohesive government since the fall of Gadafy.

Libya is also one of the main departure points from Africa for migrants escaping to Europe, most of whom make the perilous crossing across the Mediterranean sea.

Speaking after the summit, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Malta’s prime minister had made a substantial intervention on the subject during the meeting.

“This is a really difficult issue. Libya has 1,700km of a sea border, two governments . . . there is no state in Libya. Clearly it’s a cause of great concern to the surrounding countries,” he said.

Counter-terrorism

In a joint statement issued at the end of the two-day summit, leaders said the EU was ready to make full use of “all its instruments” as soon as an agreement to form a government of national unity was reached.

It also pledged to step up engagement on counter-terrorism in the region with relevant partners.

The EU's heads of state – who paused for a minute's silence as a mark of respect to the victims of Wednesday's terrorist attacks in Tunisia at the opening of the summit on Thursday – also pledged greater co-operation with Tunisia.

“The European Union and its member states will intensify co-operation with Tunisia to counter this common terrorist threat, to strengthen Tunisia’s promising democracy and to assist its economic and social development.”

Speaking at the close of the summit, European Council president Donald Tusk announced he would travel to Tunisia, Malta and Italy before the end of March with Ms Mogherini. "Events in the southern Mediterranean are dangerous for Europe," he said. "It is vital to continue talks about what more we can do, together with our southern neighbours, to stabilise the whole region."

With memories of January's terrorist attacks on the offices of the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo still fresh, counter-terrorism remains a central issue for EU leaders.

Earlier this week the EU's policing body, Europol, set up a new unit to crack down on people-smugglers involved in transporting asylum seekers across the Mediterranean.

Italy, Malta and Greece are one of a number of countries struggling to cope with the influx of migrants.

According to the European Commission, more than 220,000 migrants entered Europe illegally in 2014, compared to 60,000 in 2013. Many of these enter via Libya.

Separately, in his last EU summit before the British general election on May 7th, British prime minister David Cameron announced a new fund to support governance and economic reform in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.