Sunday

1st Oct 2023

Nato mulls use of new drones near Libya

  • Parts of Libya are under ISIS control (Photo: Sebastia Giralt)

Nato is procuring powerful new Global Hawk drones and may seek to deploy them near the Libyan coast, Euobserver has learned.

"Perhaps if the EU moves more closely to the Libyan shores, as we see what happens in New York with the new Libyan government, we can perhaps have some kind of division of labour with Nato providing situational awareness," said an official, who asked not to be named, with knowledge of Nato's plans at a security conference in Brussels on Thursday (26 May).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Nato would still have to seek permission from the Libyan authorities.

He said a team from Nato will be visiting Libya in the next few days to discuss a mandate that includes on-the-ground "capacity defence building".

"These I stress are just ideas, we haven't yet come to any particular agreement," he said.

Nato already has seven ships deployed in the Aegean sea to help contain the influx of migrants from Turkey into Greece. The US, earlier this week, said it wants to add its own ship to the Nato fleet.

The latest plan would signal a greater expansion of Western military assets near the Libyan coast and a larger alliance involvement in cracking down on migrant smugglers and other security risks like the Islamic state, also known as ISIS and as Daesh.

UN experts earlier this year in an annual report said the militant group had expanded its control over parts of Libya. Recent estimates put the number of ISIS fighters in Libya at around 6,000, up from around 3,000 last year.

The G7 group of wealthy nations are worried.

In a joint-declaration released on Thursday, they urged Libyan security forces to set up a unified command to fight the jihadists.

"We remain deeply concerned about the growing terrorist threat, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants and arms in Libya," they said.

In April, EU foreign ministers announced they would prolong the mandate of its naval military operation Sophia by another year.

Operation Sophia is billed to intercept vessels smuggling migrants but has now been tasked to also help train Libya's coastguard and navy.

The UK, for its part, is sending a second warship to add to the fleet.

'Killer robots' are not about Terminator

A European signatory of an open letter about autonomous weapons says the imagery of fictional killer robots is distracting from a seriously dangerous issue.

EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making

Emily O'Reilly cited the post-pandemic recovery funds, the windfall taxes on energy companies, and the joint purchase of vaccines, as procedures which received limited scrutiny from the national parliaments — as a result of emergency decision-making powers that bypassed parliament.

Latest News

  1. EU women promised new dawn under anti-violence pact
  2. Three steps EU can take to halt Azerbaijan's mafia-style bullying
  3. Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war
  4. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  5. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  6. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  7. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  8. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us