The Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, Carmelo Abela, has urged EU defence ministers to support the work of the United Nations in Libya and to take migration seriously.
Speaking at an informal meeting in Riga, he said action needs to be taken fast so as to prevent further tragedies in the Sahel and North Africa.
"The issue of migration needs to be taken seriously, both as an issue in itself, and due to the possible threats emanating from the current situation,” he added.
All EU Member States should be equally concerned by what is happening in Ukraine and Libya, he insisted.
In view of the EU-UN traditionally close cooperation in crisis management, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous and NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg were also present for part of the meeting. In their interventions, they discussed areas of common cooperation between the EU and NATO in the promotion of international stability and security.