The EU yesterday committed itself to taking the lead in non-military operations in Libya in a bid to help the country regain stability and ease the possibility of a spillover into Europe.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Malta was satisfied with this “positive development” in the form of a “concrete commitment”, the first of its kind, to intervene with direct action in Libya.
EU leaders had also given the United Nations the go ahead to implement measures to increase security in the troubled country.
Also of particular importance to Malta was recognition that the phenomenon of illegal migration and the situation in Libya were directly linked, so action will be taken on both fronts through further securitising borders, not only with other countries neighbouring Libya but also the maritime side.
Libya is the main point of departure from Africa for migrants fleeing poverty and war in search of better lives in Europe. Dr Muscat said Malta expected Frontex to act rather than resort to alarmism that extremists could also make the crossing by boat.
This is not the be-all-and-end-all but, at least, now there is a clear commitment by the EU
Speaking to journalists as he left the two-day EU heads of government meeting in Brussels, Dr Muscat said the situation in the North African country and the need of assistance there to protect Europe from a possible spillover was brought to the agenda on the insistence of Italy and Malta.
“We cannot expect an EU operation to securitise the entire Libyan area but there will be critical zones where the EU can help protecting such as government buildings, oil refineries, airports and the frontiers.”
Dr Muscat said the operation, which would not be in the form of military intervention, would involve other partners such as Arab countries. It would be undertaken after a political situation was sought for a unifying government. He said EU leaders were told yesterday that the Tunisian security service believed that the people behind Wednesday’s terrorist attacks had been trained in Libya.
Asked by Times of Malta whether Malta was satisfied with the development regarding Libya, Dr Muscat said the island would be satisfied once there was peace in the North African country.
“This was a very important development which will see the EU taking a direct role in helping Libya deal with the situation there. For Malta, it was even more significant that the matter was directly linked to the phenomenon of illegal migration. This is not the be-all-and-end-all but, at least, now there is a clear commitment by the EU,” he said.
Dr Muscat said Malta was confident that the EU representative for foreign affairs, Federica Mogherini, had a clear vision on how to address the matter and she had been given a mandate to report on the available options.
The Libya issue was also discussed by Labour MEP Miriam Dalli on a Euronews programme where she called for a more energised diplomatic effort by the EU to help broker a national unity government in Libya.
Speaking against any unilateral military operations, Dr Dalli said all actions in Libya should be mandated by the UN. “We need to have the UN and the Arab partners take the lead. The Arab partners are crucial players in finding a solution. If we want to find a solution which is successful it has to be a solution coming from the Libyan people to the Libyan people,” she said.
Asked about the situation in Greece, Dr Muscat said EU leaders were briefed on the meeting with the Greek government. There was no discussion on the matter and the ball was now in the Greek government’s court, he said.