Helping the Libyan Coast Guard to establish a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre

31.1.2018

Question for written answer E-000547-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Sabine Lösing (GUE/NGL) , Cornelia Ernst (GUE/NGL)

The Libyan Unity government has temporarily suspended the establishment of a Search and Rescue Area (SAR Area) as announced in the summer before the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The Italian authorities are now assisting Libya with a new application. One of the prerequisites for such a SAR area is a Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) which is operational round-the-clock. The staff must speak English. It must dispose of the necessary means of communication and ambulance vehicles to carry out rescue missions. An MRCC being set up by Italy in Tripoli is supposed to be fully operational by 2020 at the latest. Until then, an Italian navy ship stationed in the Port of Tripoli since August 2017 is supposed to carry out the functions of an MRCC.

1) Does the Commission know why Libya withdrew the application for the establishment of the SAR area and what missing equipment would have led to the rejection of the application?

2) Can the Commission say which Italian bodies were tasked with carrying out a feasibility study for the establishment of a Libyan MRCC, funded by the Commission to the tune of EUR 1 million, and provide any information as to the results of the study?

3) What financial or material assistance is the European Union providing to the Libyan coast guard for the establishment of an MRCC?