Issue 6 February 2015
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The Bridge Il-Pont Issue 6 February 2015 MED 7 MEETING IN PARIS DISCUSSES CRISES IN LIBYA AND SYRIA AND MIGRATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr George Minister Vella thanked his French coun- February Review: W. Vella was in Paris in February to par- terpart for convening the meeting at a ticipate in a meeting of the Med 7 time when the tension in the region is DIGITAL DIPLOMACY DAY group that apart from Malta is com- escalating to very worrying levels. The MINISTER VELLA ATTENDS posed of France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, fact that the Ministers were meeting in FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL Spain and Portugal. The Meeting was Paris, in the aftermath of the January at- convened to discuss unfolding develop- tacks is also very significant in itself, Min- MINISTER VELLA MEETS SMOM IN ROME ments in the region, in particular the ister Vella said. crises in Libya and Syria as well other In addressing the Meeting, Minister Vella MINISTER VELLA MEETS pressing priorities concerning youth ITALIAN COUNTERPART GENTI- elaborated on the situation in Libya, LONI employment, migration in the Mediter- which he described as an increasing ranean as well as environmental chal- growth threat to security and stability in MINISTER VELLA ATTENDS lenges in the regions. MED 7 PARIS MEETING Europe. He welcomed the fact that the The EU’s High Representative and Vice matter was brought to the UN Security TALKS WITH RT. HON. PHILIP President of the Commission Federica Council following a further deterioration HAMMOND Mogherini was also present for the of events during the week and reiterated talks. Malta’s support to the reconciliation ef- Contents: VISIT BY RT. HON. PHILIP 2 HAMMOND FAC DISCUSSIONS ON 3 LIBYA MINISTER VELLA MEETS 4 ITALIAN COUNTERPART MEETING WITH SMOM 5 DIGITAL DIPLOMACY DAY 6 INTERVIEW BY COMMER- 10 CIAL COURIER PEOPLE 11 Il-Pont (cont from Page 1) - Med 7 meeting in Paris forts being made by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Mr Ber- nardino Leon. “The evident rise of Minister Vella stated that the evident rise of extremist and terrorist entities in Libya is extremist and terror- a very alarming factor that needs to be addressed. He also highlighted the impor- ist entities in Libya is tance of keeping the migration issue firmly in sight and called for EU solidarity in this a very alarming fac- respect adding that prevailing instability in Libya will result in increased influxes of tor that needs to be migrants in the coming months. addressed” As a response to growing inter-cultural and inter-faith tensions in the Mediterranean region and beyond, Minister Vella stated that Malta actively supports deeper engage- ment with important regional partners such as the League of Arab States and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Every opportunity and existing mechanism should be availed of to spread a culture of tolerance in Europe’s neighbourhood. VISIT TO MALTA BY THE RT. HON. PHILIP HAMMOND, UK SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS The Rt. Hon. Philip Hammond, UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs was in Malta in February and held official talks with Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat, who was accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Affairs and the Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, Mr. Louis Grech and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. George W. Vella. Following the meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary Hammond held further talks with Foreign Minister Dr George W. Vella at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. They discussed the excellent bilateral relations that Malta and the United Kingdom enjoyed on the political level and in the areas of health, education, trade and investment amongst others. Dr George Vella informed the Rt. Hon. Hammond about the preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that will be held in Malta in November 2015. Minister Vella and the Rt. Hon. Hammond discussed at length current affairs, namely the unrest in Ukraine, the troubling situation in Libya and illegal immigration in the Mediterranean. They agreed that in times like this, EU Member States have to continue working closely together to identify solutions and ways forward that bring peace and stability in the EUs immediate neighbourhood. Page 2 Issue 6 FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS ONGOING DEVELOPMENTS IN LIBYA AND EU SUPPORT FOR EFFORTS TO RESOLVE CRISIS Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr George W. Vella, participated in the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, where Ministers discussed the situation in Libya, the recent de- velopments in Yemen, and terrorism. Ministers were also debriefed on the latest “Minister Vella efforts by Germany and France to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine and the possible called for in- convening of a quadripartite summit on Wednesday 11th February in Minsk. Minis- creased sup- ters also formally approved additional listings of individuals and entities to be sub- ject to EU restrictive measures, while reiterating the importance of maintaining a port for the united EU policy on sanctions. The Council also took note of the Joint Communica- latest efforts of tion to the European Parliament and Council entitled "Elements for an EU regional strategy for Syria and Iraq as well as the Da'esh threat", published by the European Bernardino Commission and European External Action Service on 6 February. This is the first EU Leon, United comprehensive strategy on tackling the crises in Syria and Iraq and the threat posed Nations Secre- by ISIL/Da'ish. tary General Minister Vella called for increased support for the latest efforts of Bernardino Leon, Special Repre- United Nations Secretary General Special Representative as he prepares for next round of talks in Libya, especially by way of increasing EU outreach to all relevant sentative as he Libyan parties, neighbouring countries and regional actors. Minister Vella referred prepares for to the ongoing process as the last chance to bring the transition of Libya back on next round of track and ensure that it does not become a failed state. He also referred to the re- cent attack on the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli which is a proof that the ongoing insta- talks in Libya.” bility is providing fertile ground for extremist groups and urged the EU to com- mence a counter-terrorism dialogue with Libya's neighbours. Minister Vella warned that the disintegration of Libya will have huge repercussions for the immediate re- gion and will represent a threat to the whole of the EU. Ministers expressed grave concern about the latest developments in Yemen, calling on all political forces to take clear responsibility for their actions and the immediate release of the President, Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet. Ministers re- called that only a broad political consensus amongst the main political groups, set- ting a clear path towards a Constitutional referendum and elections, can provide a sustainable solution to the current crisis. “Minister Vella warned that the Ministers called for comprehensive action against terrorism in line with the 2005 EU disintegration of Strategy and decided to step up its external action on countering terrorism, com- Libya will have plementing actions taken in the context of justice and home affairs by external en- gagement and outreach, especially to countries in the Middle East, North Africa, the huge repercussions Sahel and the Gulf.. The Council agreed to review progress in implementation at its for the immediate next meetings, also in view of the upcoming European Council. region and will represent a threat Minister Vella also attended a meeting of the Group of the Friends of Lebanon, to the whole of the which preceded the Foreign Affairs Council. The discussion with Gebran Bassil, the EU”. Foreign Minister of Lebanon, largely focused on the challenges being faced due to the Syrian crisis as well as the support being provided by the EU to the host com- munities and in the field of counter-terrorism, as well as the importance of pursuing political and economic reforms. Page 3 Il-Pont DEVELOPMENTS IN LIBYA DISCUSSED BETWEEN MINISTER GEORGE W. VELLA AND MINISTER PAOLO GENTILONI Both ministers agreed In February Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr George W. Vella, had a meeting with his that the situation Italian counterpart, Minister Paolo Gentiloni in Rome. The ministers discussed the recent developments in Libya and the different scenarios that could develop in the needed constant prevailing circumstances. The phenomenon of the spread of ISIS jihadists as well as monitoring and the issue of migration featured high on the list of topics discussed. Both ministers agreed that the situation needed constant monitoring and expressed the hope that expressed the hope the efforts of the UN special envoy Bernardino Leon would lead to all relevant fac- that the efforts of the tions in Libya coming together to achieve continual peace stability and security under the leadership of a national unity government. UN special envoy Bernardino Leon The ministers also expressed the hope that the ongoing would lead to all discussions at the UN Secu- relevant factions in rity Council would succeed to sensitise world opinion Libya coming on the situation in Libya. together to achieve Ministers Vella and Gentiloni continual peace agreed to keep constant stability and security contact and strive together to raise more awareness of under the leadership the Libyan problem within of a national unity the European Union. government. The message being that be- sides the problem of Ukraine the EU has also an equally serious problem to tackle which is Libya. “The message being that besides the problem of Ukraine the EU has also an equally serious prob- lem to tackle which is Libya”. Page 4 Il-Pont IL-MINISTRU GEORGE W.