Answer given by Mr Várhelyi on behalf of the European Commission

11.4.2022

The second phase of the EU-funded ‘Support to Integrated border and migration management in Libya’ (SIBMMIL) programme, includes the delivery of Search and Rescue vessels to the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) from 2022 to 2024.

It is important to ensure that Libyan authorities use delivered equipment only in line with the objectives of our border management programmes. To this aim, the Commission conducts regular monitoring of LCG’s activity and has put in place third-party monitoring of operations in Libya under the EU Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), with particular attention on the respect of the ‘do no harm’ principle.

So far, three vessels belonging to the Libyan General Administration of Coastal Security (GACS) have been rehabilitated in the context of the SIBMILL programme. No further vessels have been delivered by Italy under the EUTF programme. On the number of vessels delivered under Italy’s bilateral programmes, the Commission cannot comment.