Van Rompuy sets out agenda for Libya summit
Humanitarian aid is immediate priority, assistance for transition to democracy and economic development are longer-term goals.
Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, has sent a letter inviting EU leaders to an emergency summit on Libya and north Africa on 11 March, saying the priorities should be providing humanitarian aid and supporting the transition to democracy in the region.
In the letter, which was published today (4 March), Van Rompuy says that the EU should send a “clear and positive message to the whole region, expressing full support to the transition towards more democracy, pluralism and social inclusion”.
Van Rompuy says the meeting will start at 11.30am with reports from Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, and José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, on developments in the region since the leaders last met on 4 February.
Short-term issues
Then there will be a discussion on short-term issues including measures to respond to events in Libya, mobilisation of resources to deal with the humanitarian situation caused by the influx of returnees from Libya, and challenges to the EU posed by irregular migration. Van Rompuy also wants to discuss the evacuation of EU citizens and support to the political transition process in Tunisia, Egypt and the wider region.
After that, he says leaders should look at what needs to be done over the medium term to “support democratic transformation, encourage reforms and promote regional security and prosperity” throughout Europe’s southern neighbourhood. He says that a priority should be completing a review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) with the aim of “setting up a new partnership tailored to the needs and performance of these countries”. The ENP provides financial assistance to countries to help them develop their economies and strengthen their political and economic ties to the EU.
Union for the Mediterranean
Van Rompuy says the summit will also provide an opportunity to renew the Union for the Mediterranean, a three-year old strategy designed to encourage closer co-operation between the EU and the countries of the region.
He says the EU’s leaders will launch work on possible measures to enhance trade and investment in the region and look at possibilities for the engagement from European financial institutions, particularly the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
EIB assistance
Philippe Maystadt, the president of the European Investment Bank, has said that the EIB would like to provide up to €6 billion over three years in loans to the region.
Van Rompuy stressed the importance of keeping track of the possible impact of disruptions of energy supplies and volatility of energy and food prices.
The extra summit was called on 1 March at the urging of David Cameron, the UK’s prime minister, and Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, to discuss the situation in Libya and the region.