© Photographer: ABDULLAH DOMA/AFP The oil terminal of Marsa al-Hariga after rebels in eastern Libya ceded control of the oil port.

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union made a bid for greater geopolitical clout with a new naval mission to help enforce a United Nations arms embargo on Libya and track illicit oil trade in the country.

In a rare joint display of hard power, EU governments decided on Tuesday to deploy warships in the central Mediterranean to inspect vessels suspected of funneling weapons to and from the war-torn state. The operation will also “monitor and gather information on illicit exports from Libya of petroleum, crude oil and refined petroleum products,” the 27-nation bloc said.

The European mission will also have aerial and satellite assets. Dubbed “Irini” after the Greek word for peace, it is due to last initially until March 31, 2021.

“Libya has to be a priority to the European Union,” EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said in Brussels after the bloc’s national governments overcame months of disagreement about the details of the operation and gave it the final green light. “Unhappily, the situation in the country continues to be very critical and requires urgent action.”

What’s Behind Nine Years of Turmoil in Libya: QuickTake

The EU, which has long wielded soft power stemming from trading rules for the vast European single market, is seeking to show more traditional foreign-policy muscle as unrest afflicts nearby countries including Ukraine, Syria and Libya.

The conflict in Libya, like the Syrian war, threatens to trigger a migration wave to Europe like the one that hit the continent in 2015 and rattled the political establishment from Italy to Germany. And as in Syria, the Libyan war has drawn in Russia and Turkey on opposing sides.

Turkey is helping Fayez al-Sarraj, Libya’s UN-backed prime minister. His forces are fighting rebel strongman Khalifa Haftar, who has Russia’s support and controls the east of the country. Libya has Africa’s largest oil reserves.

A previous EU naval operation off Libya named Sophia was discontinued after countries including Austria and Italy said it acted as a “pull factor” for asylum seekers. A breakthrough over Operation Irini came when Greece offered its ports as disembarkation points for any migrants saved at sea by the mission’s ships, according to EU and Greek officials .

Borrell said EU governments would decide later on Tuesday about the division of assets for Operation Irini and signaled its ships would start their patrols within days or weeks. Speaking at a virtual press conference because of the coronavirus pandemic, he said the EU must stay focused on challenges that existed before the health scare.

“We should not forget that none of the problems we were dealing with have disappeared,” Borrell said. “Some of them are becoming bigger and worse and we have to continue paying attention to them.”

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