ROME, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Libya is the key to stability in the Mediterranean and therefore in Europe, European Parliament (EP) President Antonio Tajani told reporters Monday in Rome.
Tajani made his remarks upon returning from an official visit to Tripoli, where he met with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and called for the blacklisting of migrant traffickers so that European and African law enforcement agencies can work together to dismantle the criminal organizations that run illegal migration routes into Europe.
"The objective of our mission was to send a strong message to Libya ... which will have to become a guarantor of stability in the Mediterranean," said Tajani, adding that like the EU, Libya is "a victim of illegal immigration".
"The first thing that emerged (during my mission) was the need (for) a blacklist of trafficking organizations in order to combat illegal immigration," he continued.
"I'm not talking about small-time crooks but about organizations, which traffic not only human beings but also arms and drugs -- often the convoys heading for Libya leave Niger packed with people, and they return filled with drugs and weapons," Tajani said.
"We must strike these organizations without mercy (because) they are also involved with terrorism," he stressed.
"The cooperation between African nations and European nations in order to combat these organizations must be very, very strong," said Tajani.
The stability of Europe depends on that of Libya, and the EU must "speak with a single voice" in aiding Libyan nation-building, including by providing technical assistance and observers for national elections to be held probably in early 2019, Tajani continued.
"The stability of the Mediterranean depends on Libya's stability (and) we believe the solution must be at the European level" and not through one-on-one deals between Libya and single EU countries, Tajani explained.
At the same time, the EU must reform its Dublin Regulation to allow claims for political asylum to be processed outside Europe.
Helping Libya on the one hand and reforming the Dublin Regulation on the other would solve Europe's migration crisis, but these two measures must go hand in hand, Tajani said.
In the long term, the EU must address the root causes of mass migration -- war, terrorism, famine, drought, and climate change, he said.
Meanwhile single European countries must not consider shutting down their borders as a solution, he said in reply to questions from reporters about Italy's recent decision to ban international humanitarian migrant-rescue ships from its ports.
"As a country, it is in the interests of Italy to reinforce the EU's external borders, not the internal ones," said Tajani, who is Italian. "Shutting down internal borders ... would cause enormous damage to our economy and the European economy."
The European Parliament chief also said that the Libyan people need humanitarian aid.
"Libya needs doctors," said Tajani. "We're thinking of sending European doctors on a mission there, and also of bringing Libyan children who need surgery to get operated in Europe."
As well, Tajani announced plans to travel to Niger, Libya's neighbor to the south, before the end of the month to meet with local authorities and with his counterparts from sub-Saharan countries, and to visit the UNHCR refugee center in Niamey.
