8. Is equally concerned at the recent statement by the French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, regarding the need to operate militarily in Libyan coastal waters in order to effectively fight human smugglers and traffickers; stresses the many negative statements by Libyan decision-makers with regard to the plans to deploy EUNAVFOR Sophia forces in Libyan territorial waters; recalls that without the consent of the Libyan authorities or a UN mandate under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, such military action is to be considered illegal and an act of aggression; is concerned about the overall effectiveness of the approach, in light of recent experiences onshore in the context of EUNAVFOR Atalanta in Somalia, the possible collateral damage ...[+++] and causing of suffering to the coastal population, and the fact that such inappropriate and illegal military action by EU Member States might result in strengthening support for violent extremists like IS;

28. Agrees that the ECB’s action, which came in addition to structural reforms and the consolidation of public finances, has ‘decisively contributed to the stability of the euro area’; recognises that this action has had the effect of decreasing unsustainably high financing costs for some Member States through the Securities Market Programme (SMP) and providing a liquidity backstop for sovereign debt markets through Outright Monetary Transactions (OMTs), averting a melt-down of the banking sector and helping to sever the link between banks and sovereigns, limiting speculation on sovereign debt and temporarily reducing excessive spreads; ...[+++] considers, however, that a lack of sustainable growth and high (and still growing) levels of private and public debt in many Member States mean that ’a carefully managed process of deleveraging’ is required; agrees with the Commission that the improvement of the health of the banking sector must remain a priority; welcomes the establishment by the Commission, according to thecommitment it made to Parliament in the declaration annexed to the two-pack, of the high-level group chaired by Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell to deepen the analysis on, and assess thoroughly the partial substitution of national debt issuance through joint issuance in the form of a redemption fund and eurobills, considering the pros and cons of the different options ; looks forward to the report of the high-level group;

The Treasury of the Republic of Cyprus has as its mission, the supervision and monitoring of the constitutional, legal and responsible management of the public financial operations that support the decision making process, securing the effective implementation of financial and fiscal policies in the Republic of Cyprus.

Nor can the Commission accept another argument invoked by Italy, namely that at the time of the conclusion of the Agreement the Treasury was obliged to have regard to the Obligation and could not anticipate possible legal changes, which fell outside its competence. The Treasury, as a prudent borrower in a market economy, should have taken this very important aspect into account.