United Nations needs Europe’s support over Libya - Abela

During an informal meeting of the EU defence ministers held in Riga, home affairs minister Carmelo Abela called on the EU to support the work of the United Nations in Libya.

“Action needs to be taken fast to prevent further tragedies in the Sahel and North Africa. The issue of migration needs to be taken seriously, both as an issue in itself, and due to the possible threats emanating from the current situation,” Abela said. 

He spoke of the importance of interaction between the EU’s internal and external policies as a key factor to be taken into account in the EU’s forthcoming internal security strategy. This, he said, would complement the EU’s external policy strategy.

Abela urged for a horizontal and balanced focus reiterating that all EU Member States should be equally concerned by what is happening in Ukraine and Libya.

He called on the European Council to place Libya at the top of its agenda. 

In view of the EU-UN traditionally close cooperation in crisis management, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous and NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg were also present for part of the meeting. In their interventions, they discussed areas of common cooperation between the EU and NATO in the promotion of international stability and security.

During his visit in Riga, Abela met with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, Latvian Minister for Defense, Rajmonds Vajonis and held discussions with several other Ministers of Defence including those from Ireland, The Netherlands and Slovakia.