The fact that the leadership
of the Libya follow-up committees from the Berlin peace
conference has gone to Italy "shows what an important and
constructive role Italy has played in this process," German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told a
press conference in Berlin Monday.
Seibert confirmed the rotating presidency would move to Italy
in March.
He said Italy would decide when the next International
Follow-up Committee meeting owuld take place in Rome.
EU foreign ministers are unlikely to revive a naval operation
to enforce an arms embargo on war-torn Libya on Monday, the
bloc's diplomatic chief said, saying a number of countries were
still against the plan.
Austria has led opposition to re-equipping Operation Sophia
with ships to ensure the UN arms embargo -- currently routinely
being flouted -- is respected, fearing it could reactivate a
rescue fleet that would end up ferrying migrants across the
Mediterranean to Europe's ports.
The Libya crisis is on the agenda for EU ministers meeting in
Brussels on Monday, but the bloc's high representative for
foreign affairs Josep Borrell said he was not hopeful of
reaching an agreement on Sophia.
"I don't think today we are going to be able," Borrell told
reporters as he arrived, saying he would "continue working" and
try to find a solution at the next ministers' meeting, in March.
"I think there is more than one (country opposing the idea).
When you approach the final decision many others have some final
reluctance."
Hungary, whose right-wing government has taken a tough
anti-immigration stance, is understood to support Austria's
objections.
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