On Tuesday (8 July), Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, was expelled from the country by the internationally unrecognised government of eastern Libya, along with three European ministers. The delegation had hoped to reach an agreement with the government of army leader Khalifa Haftar to stop migrants leaving the country.
Due to the increased number of migrants travelling from Libya to Europe, the European Commission felt compelled to negotiate with Libyan authorities. These agreements were to be made not only with the internationally recognised government in Tripoli, but also with the government affiliated with General Haftar in eastern Libya. It was a controversial plan, but the talks never even got off the ground.
After holding meetings in western Libya, Mr Brunner and the ministers from Greece, Italy and Malta boarded a plane to Benghazi, the seat of the parallel government in eastern Libya. Upon arrival, it immediately became clear that the talks had been cancelled. Furthermore, the authorities had declared the European Commissioner and the ministers persona non grata, ordering the delegation to leave the country immediately.
The exact reasons are unclear. In a press release, the eastern government condemned the "flagrant violation of established diplomatic norms and international treaties", ‘"actions that demonstrably disregard Libyan national sovereignty", and "violations of Libyan national law", but did not provide further explanation. "As a result, the planned visit was cancelled when they arrived at Benina International Airport in Benghazi," the government said.
