European Union defence ministers welcomed the start of the evacuation of EU citizens from Libya. Although the issue was not originally on their agenda, EU defence ministers discussed it with NATO’s Secretary General, at their informal meeting in Gödöllő, on 25 February 2011, and the EU’s High Representative said that sanctions should be considered against Libya.

We should consider potential sanctions against Libya, Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told the informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Gödöllő, on 25 February 2011. While the Libyan situation was not originally on the agenda, it came to claim the place of pride. The High Representative talked about plans to hold several meetings on the matter, including one with US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton early next week.

NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who also attended the meeting, firmly disapproves of the current situation in Libya. “The killings and brutality are worrying. The most important thing is to protect people’s lives”, said Mr Rasmussen. He added the Libyan events will be in the focus of an emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the supreme decision making body of NATO, is to be held in Brussels, on 25 February. “We will discuss the situation and look at the support required by our allies”, said Mr Rasmussen.

In parallel with the meeting of EU defence ministers and the NATO talks, the UN’s Human Rights Council, will also hold an emergency session to discuss human rights issues in Libya, on the initiative of Hungary, made on the EU’s behalf. At the meeting, Hungary will urge immediate action against human rights violations on the EU’s behalf. Concurrently, the UN Security Council will also discuss the potential UN sanctions against Libya.

Helping people in need is a priority

The EU’s Defence Ministers discussed travel restrictions and asset freezing, the High Representative told the follow-up press conference. According to information by the European Foreign Service, some 2,000 European citizens are currently in Libya, but a large portion of them are dual citizens who do not wish to leave the country.

In response to a question, Ms Ashton said the possibility of deploying EU military forces in Libya is not on the table, adding that she was satisfied with the progress of evacuation. NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said it was too early to discuss further steps, and that NATO “should give priority to helping people in need.”

Earlier, in an exclusive interview to eu2011.hu, Defence Minister, Csaba Hende, said the political changes in the region “pointed to some deeply rooted structural problems that can only be resolved in the long term.”

Inexpensive but efficient defence

Long-term planning calls for broader cooperation in the EU’s common security and defence policy. The defence ministers discussed this and similar issues. Member states backed the principle of pooling and sharing defence capabilities, which could be an innovative solution to improve efficiency while cutting cost.

The EU has already discussed the issue at several forums, most recently, at an expert conference, which was organised by the Hungarian Presidency in Budapest. Addressing the informal meeting in Gödöllő, Catherine Ashton said the EU will look at ways to fine-tune pooling and sharing, based on member states’ needs.

Ashton: Send Gaddafi back into the cold

The Union should strive to promote the basic principles of its foreign policy: co-operation, respect of sovereignty, democracy and stability, said Catherine Ashton in her speech given at Corvinus University of Budapest on 25 February. The High Representative stressed that the EU must support countries choosing change on the road to democracy.

Reflecting on the events now unfolding in the Middle East, Ms Ashton called it a fair question whether the European Union should have acted sooner to oppose authoritarian regimes instead of co-operating with them.

Ms Ashton stated that for decades the EU followed the rule in place around the world and supported isolating regimes that defied the international community. This is also what took place in the case of sanctions imposed on Iran and North Korea. On the other hand, in order to encourage such countries to change their behaviour, “it has been standard practice to maintain diplomatic and trading relations with countries whose domestic systems of governance we may dislike, aiming to encourage them over time to change their behaviour”, she added.

The High Representative Ashton reminded that “in the case of Libya, the Gaddafi regime was brought in from the cold when, amongst other things, it abandoned its quest for weapons of mass destruction.”

“Might Gaddafi have been brought down years ago had we not offered him the carrot of trade and investment in return for these concessions?”, Ms Ashton asked. “Perhaps. But I am not convinced that the world would now be safer or the people of Libya better off had the West refused to negotiate with Gaddafi,” the EU High Representative said. She added that “we must calibrate our stance when circumstances change. Hence, his outrageous behaviour in the past few days demands we send him back into the cold.”

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