Muscat faces 'persuasion test' on Libya, Opposition says

A two-day summit in Brussels will be Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s test to see how he will manage to persuade fellow European leaders to act on Libya, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said.

The European Council has dedicated its first working session to the Energy Union while external relations will be debated over dinner. President Donald Tusk expects the EU to demonstrate its continued resolve to engage with the Eastern, both bilaterally and regionally.

“The situation in Ukraine and relations with Russia will be at the heart of our dinner discussion, with a particular emphasis on next steps,” Tusk said.

On Friday, leaders will debate the economic situation, the implementation of key structural reforms undertaken by member states and the situation in Libya.

“[Libya] is very worrying in several respects. We will see how we can support efforts to stabilise the country and to promote a political solution,” Tusk said.

Busuttil is currently in Brussels attending a meeting of the European People’s Party ahead of the European Council meeting. The PN leader said Malta was expected the Prime Minister to convince EU member states to take concrete action over Libya.

“I expect the Prime Minister to persuade Member State that the situation in Libya cannot prolong any longer,” he said.

Busuttil said Libya required a government of national unity for peace to be restored. “The international community and the EU must do its part to help Libya find peace and security,” he said, adding that, if necessary the EU should send a peace-keeping mission while increase naval presence in the Mediterranean.

Two days ago, EU police group Europol launched Joint Operational Team (JOT) Mare in a bid to fight organised criminal groups facilitating the sea crossings of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea to the EU.

The intelligence-led JOT Mare will combine Europol's unique intelligence resources and member states' capabilities to carry out coordinated and intelligence-driven actions against facilitators and smugglers.

Energy Union to dominate summit

The Energy Union will dominate EU leaders’ talks: the European Commission is pushing for an Energy Union with an ambitious climate policy at its core giving households and businesses “secure, sustainable, competitive and affordable” energy.

Latest data shows that the EU imported 53% of its energy at a cost of around €400 billion, which makes it the largest energy importer in the world.

“Today, the European Union has energy rules set at the European level, but in practice it has 28 national regulatory frameworks. This cannot continue. An integrated energy market is needed to create more competition, lead to greater market efficiency through better use of energy generation facilities across the EU and to produce affordable prices for consumers,” the European Commission insists.

Expressing concerning over the lack of diversity in the choice of energy suppliers, with household concern facing “too little control” over their energy costs, the EC is pushing for a fully integrated European energy market, diversifying energy sources, suppliers and routes.

“The political challenges over the last months have shown that diversification of energy sources, suppliers and routes is crucial for ensuring secure and resilient energy supplies to European citizens and companies, who expect access to affordable and competitively priced energy at any given moment. To ensure the diversification in gas supplies, work on the Southern Gas Corridor must be intensified to enable Central Asian countries to export their gas to Europe.

“In Northern Europe, the establishment of liquid gas hubs with multiple suppliers is greatly enhancing supply security. This example should be followed in Central and Eastern Europe, and in the Mediterranean area, where a Mediterranean gas hub is in the making.”

The European Commission, in its communication to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Investment Bank among others, insists that the EU must “use all its foreign political instruments to establish strategic energy partnership with increasingly important producing and transit countries or regions such as Algeria and Turkey; Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan; the Middle East; Africa and other potential suppliers”.

According to the European Commission, the EU will “consider” reframing the energy relationship with Russia based on a level playing field in terms of market opening, fair competition, environmental protection and safety.