The commander of the EU’s Mediterranean naval operation, IRINI, stated that the operation would have a crucial role in the Mediterranean, according to Stromenti Politici magazine.
Rear Admiral Stefano Turchetto made this remarks on the eve of the annual, Shade Med conference in Rome, focusing on “Common Awareness and Conflict Avoidance in the Mediterranean.”
Turchetto emphasised that the central Mediterranean is Europe’s southern border, making a European naval and aerial operation like IRINI crucial for the Mediterranean region.
Despite incomplete fulfilment of expectations from the Berlin conferences, Turchetto considered the absence of renewed conflict between western Libya’s Tripoli and eastern Libya’s Benghazi as a success in itself. He viewed it as a positive development for both Europe, and the Libyan people.
Turchetto highlighted the importance of Europe’s presence in the Mediterranean, foreseeing increased significance in the future due to strong commercial interests and energy supplies. Additionally, coordination with NATO for regional security and defence was emphasised.
Operation IRINI officially began on 31 March, 2020, aiming to support the ceasefire in Libya, specifically enforcing the arms embargo on Libya, as outlined in relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The embargo allows the inspection of commercial vessels on the high seas, if there are reasonable grounds to believe they may be transporting arms or war materials. If found, IRINI can also redirect the concerned commercial ship to a European port.
Moreover, the operation includes secondary tasks such as information gathering, in line with UN-approved measures to combat the illicit trafficking of oil products, to and from Libya, and the fight against human trafficking.
In October, the European Union delivered 105 armoured vehicles to Ghana, which were originally seized from a ship off the coast of Libya in October 2022, by the EU’s Operation IRINI.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, officially presented the vehicles to Ghana’s armed forces, according to the Financial Times. Operation IRINI is responsible for inspecting vessels suspected of violating the UN arms embargo on Libya.
“Further equipment will also be delivered in the future: aerial surveillance, electronic warfare systems and river crafts,” Borrell added. “We are confident that this support will benefit not only Ghana, but the entire subregion [of the Gulf of Guinea] as well.