EU “complicit with Libyan coastguard.” Letter of accusation from 42 NGOs

Brussels – Forty-two humanitarian organisations accuse the European Union of being complicit in the aggression of the Libyan coastguard. The NGOs refer to an incident this summer, when Libyan coastguards fired at the Norwegian ship Ocean Viking. “European funds should not be provided to organisations that attack European citizens and people in distress at sea,” reads the letter addressed by the non-profits to the EU Commissioners.

The appeal is clear: to request that the European Commission suspend cooperation with Libya in the field of search and rescue at sea. The EU’s response came in the morning, when Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier clarified: “If we want to improve the situation, we have to remain linked to Libyan institutions. We await the developments of the investigations to assess what has happened.” The investigations are taking place in Libya.

One month since the EU-backed Libyan Coast Guard fired on rescue workers + shipwreck survivors, yet cooperation continues. Today we tell the politicians: no more business as usual.@vonderleyen @EU_Commission: time to defund violence at sea.https://t.co/IoZSZw30zn pic.twitter.com/5TBMKS2Qms

— ActionAid EU (@ActionAidEU) September 24, 2025

The attitude from Brussels will certainly not soften the tone of the accusation. The Bologna-based NGO,Refugees in Libya, which includes several refugees from Libya, through its president, David Yambio, declared: “We, Refugees in Libya, and I personally, have been kidnapped in the boats you financed.” Similar denunciation comes from Andrew Gilmour, former UN Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights, who speaks of “blatant double standards” applied by Western countries towards “massive violations of international humanitarian law. The impunity granted to Libya provides further evidence of Europe’s loss of moral authority.”

Words that do not seem to faze Brussels, which continues on its way. Today, Guillaume Mercier himself recalled how, shortly after the incident, a diplomatic visit to Tripoli had taken place to discuss the incident.

The incident in question dates back to 26 August, when the Ocean Viking, operated by Italian NGO SOS Méditerranée, was fired upon by the Libyan coastguard. At the time, there were almost 100 people on board, including crew and rescued persons. Sos Mediterranee spokesperson Francesco Creazzo said at the time: “It was a coincidence, a miracle or a stroke of luck that no one was hurt.”

20:35 #OceanViking is moored in the port of Augusta.
️ Francesco Creazzo, Sos Mediterranee communications officer. pic.twitter.com/YXsFEfVEWX

– Sergio Scandura (@scandura) August 25, 2025

Moreover, according to some reconstructions, the patrolmen were on board an Italian patrol boat. The boat had been handed over to the African state as part of the Support for Integrated Border and Migration Management in Libya agreements. The treaties signed between Italy, the EU and Libya have a total value of around €53 million.

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