“EU Libya Deal is needed to protect human rights” but critics disagree

At the EU Council summit in Valetta, European Union leaders agreed on a new plan to increase its cooperation with Libya in order to stem the flow of migrants coming from the North African country last week Friday, 6 February 2017.

The released declaration states that Libyan national coast guard will receive support in training and equipment. Under the second package of the SOPHIA Operation capabilities shall be enhanced and the business model of smugglers and human traffickers in Libya shall be disrupted.

UNHCR, IOM and MSF urge the EU not to see Libya as safe

Friday 3 February, European leaders meet at the informal summit in Valletta, Malta, to discuss migration. The meeting is focused specifically on halting migration along the Central Mediterranean Route, with Libya as its focal point. In a joint statement, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) urging the EU to not consider Libya a safe third country. The humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned the EU about an inhumane approach to migration.