Authorities in eastern Libya denied entry to a European delegation that included the interior ministers of Italy, Greece, and Malta, as well as EU Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner, citing violations of diplomatic protocol. The group, which had earlier held talks in Tripoli with the western-based, internationally recognized government, was barred from entering Benghazi shortly after their arrival on Monday. A statement from Osama Hammad, prime minister of the eastern Libya administration, declared the four officials “persona non grata” for allegedly breaching Libyan sovereignty and failing to follow established diplomatic norms. The administration claimed that the ministers had entered “illegally” and disregarded proper coordination with the eastern-based government, which has separate governance structures from the western government in Tripoli.
The EU delegation was on a mission to negotiate tougher migration control measures in Libya, a key departure point for migrants and refugees attempting to reach Europe. Over the past decade, the European Union has invested millions of euros in training and equipping Libyan coast guards and institutions to prevent irregular migration, despite repeated criticism from human rights groups about migrant abuse in detention centers across the country. The diplomatic fallout appears rooted in the delegation’s decision to first meet with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah in Tripoli. This reportedly offended officials in the east, who expect parallel diplomatic engagement due to the divided political control between Libya’s rival governments. Eastern Libya, dominated by powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA), requires special authorization for any foreign visits.
Greek Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hadzidakis acknowledged that the visit to Benghazi was canceled due to the prior stop in Tripoli. “This was perhaps not viewed favorably by the eastern authorities, but the EU is committed to finding common solutions to shared challenges like migration,” Hadzidakis told Greece’s ERT public broadcaster. The standoff underscores the complexities of dealing with Libya’s fractured state. Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been locked in political turmoil, split between rival administrations backed by foreign powers and local militias. Despite ongoing UN-led efforts to unify Libya’s institutions, the east and west remain deeply divided. Commissioner Brunner later downplayed the incident, writing on social media that the EU mission to Libya had been “successfully concluded,” without directly mentioning the Benghazi expulsion.
