On 5 December, Italian Rear Admiral Stefano Turchetto, currently EU Operation Commander of Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, praised the support given to his mission by the EU members, including ‘military units’ and intelligence. He stated that the current ‘Middle Eastern context’ could certainly destabilize a larger area. In this situation, he foresees a general increase in arms trafficking, which could have an impact on Africa and, therefore, on Libya. Turchetto claimed that the mission’s action is ‘certainly effective as it supports the stabilization process in Libya by hindering and thus acting as a deterrent to the strengthening of the war capabilities of the interested parties.’
