Josep Borrell visited Italy to boost Co-Operation Irini
Today we had an important discussion with Minister Luigi about Libya and the prospects we have for peace with the new leadership in the country. https://eudebates.tv/debates/eu-polic... The way is still long and requires consolidated efforts, but there is a window of opportunity that we have to use. Allow me to thank Italy for the important contribution that it has always made on this difficult file and in particular when it came to launching Operation Irini and also for hosting the Operations’ headquarters, which I will visit later this afternoon. #eudebates #Military #ARMY #EUarmy #NATO #Borrell #Libya #IRINI With Minister [Di Maio] we discussed Russia and Turkey, as you know next week there is a Foreign Affairs Council and after the European Union Council. We have also touched upon the Middle East peace process. On Turkey, also we have a momentum, a good momentum, following their exploratory talks with Greece. And I will present a report to the European Union leaders, where I will outline current trends and suggest a way ahead to consolidate a constructive attitude, while at the same time being ready to take measures if necessary. And with [Minister] Luigi [Di Maio] we are going to discuss this report next Monday, and this talk has been very useful to prepare our discussions with the other European Union colleagues. Finally, we talked about Russia. I expressed my gratitude to the Minister for the Italian activities contributing to the development of the European Union’s policy towards Russia. It is clear that Russia is going down a worrisome authoritarian route, disconnecting further from Europe and not accepting that we talk with them about human rights and political freedoms. I expect from the European Council a discussion on the state of play and on the way ahead. One thing is sure – and we agreed with the Minister – only European Union unity, fully embedded in the five guiding principles, implementing all of them – I mean all – is key in setting our future relations. Finally, Minister, caro Luigi [Di Maio], allow me two words on the case of Giulio Regeni. L’Egitto deve fare il più possibile per investigare le circostanze della sua orribile morte, in cooperazione con le autorità italiane. I am calling for that once again. L’unione Europea e con voi, e con Italia è con la famiglia di Giulio. https://www.eudebates.tv/ #eudebates The European Union is set to extend its Libya arms embargo mission for two years, a senior EU official said, according to a report by AFP. https://eudebates.tv/ The mandate of Operation IRINI was initially scheduled to last until March 31, however the EU27 bloc is expected to “adopt a decision next week extending its mandate for two extra years until end of March 2023,” according to the EU official. The mission is monitoring the implementation of the United Nations arms embargo on Libya through the use of aerial, satellite and maritime assets. In particular it is mandated to carry out inspections of vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya suspected to be carrying arms or related material to and from the country. Stressing that after the Libyans voted last week for a unity government, paving the way for peace in the war-torn country, the EU official said that it is now “more necessary than ever to continue our efforts”. The Union’s High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell is visiting on March 18-19 the Operation’s Headquarters in Rome on the occasion of its 1st anniversary, where he will meet with the Operation’s Commander Rear Admiral Fabio Agostini.
