European Commission dismisses NGOs' call to stop financing of Libyan Coast Guard

Published connected 24/09/2025 - 17:24 GMT+2 •Updated 17:27

The European Commission has dismissed a telephone from 42 civilian nine organisations for it to halt financing the alleged Libyan Coast Guards whose agents are deployed connected the country’s seashore to forestall migrants’ boats from mounting sail.

Some 42 European civilian nine organizations person written an unfastened missive to EU Commissioners for Home Affairs Magnus Brunner, and for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, asking for the enforcement to halt the funding.

The missive argues that EU backing has “enabled and legitimised abuses”, pointing retired that the Commission has been found guilty of maladministration by the EU Ombudsman for having refused to disclose assessments of its Libya projects.

Signatories assertion a agelong grounds of incidents of unit during interceptions carried retired by the Libyan Coast Guard against boats successful distress, and impeach Libyan officials of overseeing a “culture of impunity for violence.” 

The organisations that signed the missive see SOS Méditerranée, a web of humanitarian associations whose rescue vessel Ocean Viking was attacked in planetary waters past August by a vessel astir apt transferred to Libya by Italy nether an EU-funded program. Amnesty International, Emergency, Médecins Sans Frontières, and ActionAid International are besides among the signatories. 

The missive asks the European Commission to suspend practice with Libya successful the tract of hunt and rescue. The Commission should alternatively concern and coordinate a state-led European hunt and rescue programme successful the Central Mediterranean, the missive suggests, to enactment states successful opening harmless routes for migrants to flight Libya. 

The European Commission has received the letter, but doubled down connected its committedness to stay engaged with Libya, according to the Commission’s spokesperson Guillaume Mercier. “This is what we person been doing and we support connected doing astatine antithetic level, and this is our argumentation for now”, Mercier said during a property briefing.

The EU has financed Libya successful the country of migration chiefly done the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF for Africa), launched successful November 2015 and providing a full of €465 cardinal until 2021.

Assistance to the state continues nether different programme - the NDICI– Global Europe instrumentality - for the play 2021-2027, allocating a full of €65 cardinal with a absorption connected extortion and borderline management, though it is not wide however overmuch of this wealth is efficaciously channeled to the alleged Libyan Coast Guard.

Libya is not considered a “place of Safety” for disembarkment of radical rescued astatine sea, according to the existent position of the UN, owed to its concern of insecurity, violence, quality rights abuses, and susceptible conditions for migrant people.