‘I could still feel the tension’ – Muscat describes Libya visit

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called on EU countries to ensure stability in Libya, warning that he “could still feel the tension” during a recent high-level visit to Tripoli.

Muscat on Wednesday became the first prime minister to meet the Government of National Accord’s prime minister Fayez Mustafa al-Serraj since the UN-backed administration came into power.

“I could still feel the tension but I could also feel that there are people in Libya who are willing to take concrete action to provide stability to the country,” Muscat said at the end of a conference in Florence organised by the European University Institute.

The State of the Union conference is an annual event organised by the EUI for high-level reflection on the EU.

In his speech, Muscat called on the European Union to provide aid to Lebanon and Jordan, who shelter thousands of Syrian refugees in camps.

“It is not enough for the EU to aid Turkey, but it must also aid our Mediterranean friends such as Lebanon and Jordan who are also facing their own immigration problems,”

He added that the EU’s recent deal with Turkey aimed at limiting the flow of refugees to Europe is likely to lead to more asylum seekers seeking to cross to the continent from North Africa.

He said that EU countries must work in tandem to tackle their economic, security and migration problems.

“Europe’s future must be built on fewer walls and more trust.”