Libya: EU must move from solidarity to practical support

Ana Gomes, the Parliament's standing rapporteur for Libya and S&D co-ordinator for the foreign affairs, departed yesterday on a five-day European Parliament mission to Libya. The Parliamentary delegation will go to Tripoli and Benghazi to meet with the Libyan authorities, ambassadors from the EU and its member states, representatives from the UN and the US, NGOs and civil society activists.

Before leaving, the S&D MEP explained:

"Now that Libya has a road map to move towards free elections and to start building democratic institutions and a democratic society, the European Parliament continues to follow the process closely and to encourage democratic reform.  This is a natural progression from the solidarity the Parliament expressed with the Libyan revolution as early as March 2011, calling on other EU institutions to engage with the National Transitional Council of Libya.

"Now it is time to move from solidarity into different types of practical support and into engagement with the provisional government and the main actors in Libyan society," said Ana Gomes.  "That is why a European Parliament mission is visiting Tripoli and Benghazi in the next days.  On the agenda for our meetings will be: human rights for all (including prisoners of war), migrants and refugees, transitional justice, disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration of combatants, border security, women's participation in political life, and other matters of Libyan governance which are relevant for a new EU-Libyan partnership."

end