EU defence ministers discuss security challenges

BRUSSELS, Feb 5 (KUNA) -- Defence ministers of the 28 member EU discussed the EU military missions in Africa including Libya as well as the current security challenges, during their informal meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Friday.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, EU High Representative for foreign and defence policy, Federica Mogherini, said they were joined by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenber to discuss defence and EU-NATO cooperation.
The meeting also talked about EU missions in in Africa and ongoing work in Libya and Afghanistan, she said.
The EU defence ministers were Joined by the EU foreign ministers over lunch to discuss the preparation of EU global strategy which Mogherini said she will present to the EU leaders end June.
On her part, Dutch defence ministers Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, whose country holds the current EU Presidency, said the informal gathering looked at the security challengers, terrorism, migration and noted that no EU member state can face the challenge alone.
"We have to act together," she stressed.
In response to a question on Libya, Mogherini said the EU will provide all potential support in the security sector when a government of national unity is in place in Libya.
The EU has started to explore means of improving the next phases of EU anti-migrant smuggling operation in the Mediterranean, Sophia, to move to face three in the moment when the Libyan authorities might find it useful to go into this cooperation, she said.
Currently the operation is in phase two under which EU naval ships can board, search, seize and divert vessels suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking on the high seas.
"The best condition to fight against Daesh in Libya is going to be to counting on the government of national unity to be in place and to be in partnership with them to fight and defeat Daesh in Libya," she added referring to so-called Islamic State (IS) in its Arabic acronym. (end) nk.bs