Blame game
Brussels got the blame, with officials from Rome and Athens privately suggesting the EU team had let the rest of them down. Within the EU’s own institutions, some Commission insiders were also quietly critical of how it had been handled, with the finger of suspicion pointing at the bloc’s diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service.
According to some involved, the risks of Haftar setting a trap were known but they decided to try their luck and hope to be able to work it out in person on the ground if anything went wrong.
“Brussels and the rest of the Europeans are fully aware that the commissioner and ministers walked into a trap in a desperate attempt to appease Haftar over his migration blackmail,” said one person familiar with the discussion in Brussels. “Now the Commission and Italy, which came up with the mission at the worst possible time, are under attack, with others opposed to further concessions and capitulations to Haftar, a staunch ally of Russia.”
On Friday, the Commission confirmed that Team Europe would try again. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed with the leaders of Italy, Greece and Malta to keep pressing when they met on the sidelines of a Ukraine support summit in Rome on Thursday.
A Commission spokesperson said von der Leyen and the other leaders agreed “to continue to engage with Libya and to pursue the Team Europe approach including by resending the Team Europe delegation to Libya to continue the visit.” The idea, the spokesperson suggested, would be to engage with “both sides” in Libya, the implication being that this would include the Haftar-ruled east.
It’s not clear exactly when the new mission to Libya will take place or who will be on board the plane next time.
One major risk is that Putin’s Russia now sees eastern Libya and its migration routes across the Mediterranean as an irresistible opportunity to destabilize the EU. Haftar has held multiple meetings with Russian ministers and his army has received support from the Russian military.
“No one really knows what to do,” said the same person familiar with the discussions quoted above. “But it’s clear that appeasement isn’t working and that Haftar will keep asking for more, thus advancing Russian interests in Libya in exchange for a handful fewer migrants landing in Crete.”
