Commissioner for Peace and Security meets with the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 22, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The African Union (AU) Commissioner for Peace and Security, Smail Chergui, met yesterday with the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-president of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini. The meeting, which took place on the margins of the AU Commission and European Commission College-to-College meeting in Brussels, was attended by other officials from the External Action Services (EEAS), including Alain Le Roy, Secretary-General of the EEAS.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the two to discuss a number of issues of common concern in particular the prevailing situation in Libya, which is characterized by continued insecurity, political polarization and the increasing presence of terrorist groups, some of which affiliated to the Islamic State. They noted that the collapse of state authority in Libya has contributed to the aggravation of human trafficking and the flow of illegal migrants departing from Libya to Europe, with the attendant humanitarian disasters, as shown by the recent drowning of hundreds of people in the Mediterranean Sea.
Other issues also discussed include the situation in Somalia and the impact of the conflict in Yemen on that country and the larger Horn of Africa region; the ongoing peace efforts in Mali and other recent developments in the Sahel region; the fight against the Boko Haram terrorist group; and efforts towards the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes.
Commissioner Chergui and High Representative Mogherini reiterated the commitment of both the AU and the EU to deepen their partnership in the area of peace and security. In this respect, they agreed to work together to ensure strategic coherence on all issues of common concern and closer coordination of the efforts of their envoys on the ground.