EU HR Josep Borrell met Minister of Foreign Afairs of Morocco to discuss Libya #WAR

Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, meets Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco, on 29 January 2020, in Brussels.
#eudebates #Libya #War #Morocco #Bourita #Borrell #JosepBorrell #EU

The European Union - Morocco relationship is based on the need to respond to common challenges in the areas of economic development, innovation, climate change, justice, security, mobility, migration and good governance, and seize new opportunities. The partnership is legally based on the Association Agreement, which entered into force in 2000. With the launch of the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2004, which has been reviewed in 2015, Morocco gradually became a privileged partner of the EU in the field of political and economic cooperation as well as trade, technical and development cooperation.

The Association Council that frames the political dialogue and cooperation priorities governs the EU-Morocco relationship. The last Association Council meeting took place on 27 June 2019 giving new impetus to their strategic, multidimensional and privileged relationship.
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EU: "Everyone respects export arms embargo"
The solution to the crisis in Libya "must be found at the negotiating table". The embargo on the export of arms to the North African country "must be respected by all the states that are part of the United Nations" and the European Union, given that "there is no military solution to the situation in Libya", urges everyone to "avoid any action that could lead to an escalation of military operations". The spokesperson of the EU, the EU diplomatic service, Peter Stano, said during the press briefing in Brussels, about the role Turkey is playing in Libya, in support of the Fayez al Serraj government.

Turkish-Libyan agreement - Memoranda of Understanding - violate international law!
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized some UN member states Wednesday for violating a UN-imposed arms embargo on Libya.
#eudebates
Turkey and Libya challenge Israel’s allies in the Mediterranean! Greece and Cyprus are leading the international opposition to the Turkish-Libyan agreement.

The natural gas discoveries in the Mediterranean and repercussions of the Arab Spring yielded significant developments in the regional architecture of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. Chief among them are the trilateral relationship among Israel, Greece and Cyprus and the regional gas forum launched in Cairo in early 2019 with the participation of seven Middle Eastern and European members (including Israel and the Palestinian Authority), with US and European support. Turkey is not a participant in any of these new constellations, viewing them as Mediterranean frameworks designed to exclude it in light of the circumstances in the region.

Turkey recently took a surprising counter measure. On November 27, it signed two agreements with Libya’s al-Sarraj government – one on military cooperation and the other marking the economic maritime borders between the two countries. The maritime agreement generated much regional and international interest, prompting condemnation by various states. Turkey is not a signatory to the UN’s Law of the Sea and has a different interpretation regarding the distribution of economic waters among the Mediterranean coastal states. It challenges the rights of Cyprus and the Greek Islands, including Crete, to economic waters of their own and therefore argues that its agreement with Libya complies with the rules of international law.

Both Libyan-Turkish agreements, and especially the one delineating their maritime borders, are designed to challenge the anti-Turkish constellation that has emerged in recent years and currently includes concrete energy-related cooperation. The agreements, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan clearly stated, are designed to signal Turkey’s intention to insist on its rights in the region. Turkey is also seeking to convey its message by drilling in Cypriot economic waters (which, as mentioned, Turkey does not recognize). The latest Turkish moves mainly address Greece and Cyprus (over the interpretation of economic waters), but also Egypt. A deep and wide-ranging rivalry exists between Egypt and Turkey since al-Sisi assumed power. Turkey’s Libyan move is generating great anger in Cairo, and Egypt is expected to respond with intensive measures vis-à-vis the Libyan arena, perhaps even with an effort to overturn the agreements (which are defined as “memoranda of understanding,” a fact which has raised various interpretations regarding their legally binding status).

Egypt also rejects Turkey-Libya deal on sea rights, security.

Di Maio: "Italy can mediate between Moscow and Erdogan, a special envoy is needed". Russia: "We are worried about a possible Turkish military intervention". UN: "Foreign interference, political solution is needed". EU: "May everyone respect the arms embargo"