In an interview with La Stampa, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano stated that the situation in Libya is changing, "On the other side of the Mediterranean the wind is changing: we must quickly adjust the sails and use it to stop human trafficking ". The minister explained that the Libyan government of Fayez al-Serraj "has asked Italy for help, is ready to establish the SAR zone in its waters, to collaborate with Europe and invest in the Coast Guard: all this is a symptom of rebalancing underway in the Mediterranean. And the investigations of some Sicilian prosecutors have created the "cultural" context suitable for obtaining the NGO Code ". The decision of MSF to suspend the rescue "is part of a readjustment of the balance: those waters are no longer of anyone, but of Libya", "we must avoid deaths at sea by reducing departures and contribute financially so that the camps in Libya have an adequate standard ".
According to the head of the Farnesina, "resources must be given to UNHCR and IOM to help us in Libya". General Khalifa Haftar's request to Europe for 20 billion to control the flows "is what we have been saying for months: the Balkan route closed with a multi-billion dollar agreement with Turkey, we cannot delude ourselves that the problem in Libya can be solved with a few million euros. We need an enormous, I repeat enormous, economic investment from Europe in Libya and Africa ”.