As a result of the Paris May conference, European states and the UN had hoped to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on 10 December in Libya as a way out of the conflict. This initiative was however criticized by some actors, including Italy, which pointed out the fragility of the situation in terms of security and of the stability of state institutions in Libya as factors which impede the success of elections. The UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, told the Security Council on November that the focus needed to be put on the National Conference as a mechanism to give Libyans a forum to discuss their future and set the subsequent electoral process. He added that the violence and the deadlock between rival administrations had made the possibility of elections next moth unrealistic. In terms of agenda, Salame said that “the National Conference is to be held in the first weeks of 2019, the subsequent electoral process should commence in the spring of 2019” without specifying a concrete calendar.