Brussels gets blamed for Libya trip fiasco

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s attempt to coordinate a plan to stem the flow of migrants from North Africa descended into a blame game on Wednesday after a top Brussels official was thrown out of Libya by a Russia-backed warlord.

EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner was ejected from Benghazi as “persona non grata” on Tuesday over an apparent breakdown in diplomatic protocol. He had been leading a delegation of senior EU representatives — including ministers from Italy, Malta and Greece — in an attempt to discuss efforts to tackle the flow of thousands of migrants into Europe from the country.

With undocumented migration seen as a critical test for the EU’s ability to respond to voters’ concerns over border security, the failure of Brunner’s mission threatens to deal a significant blow to the Commission’s credibility.

On Wednesday, officials in Athens and Rome pointed the finger at Brussels and its diplomatic service while some of Brunner’s own colleagues inside the Commission admitted the EU side had messed up. The Greek government said it will continue its own talks with Libya and announced emergency measures to address the surge in arrivals on the island of Crete.

Speaking to Greek media, Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis stressed that the Libya trip had been organized by the Commission and not by Athens. “There was an organizational bottleneck, which also led to a failure to adhere to diplomatic protocols,” he said.

In Rome, officials suggested Brussels should look into what went wrong. Italy’s Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, who was on the trip, said: “It was a meeting canceled at the last minute due to resentment on the Libyan side over excessive zeal on the part of some officials in the European delegation.” 

Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis stressed that the Libya trip had been organized by the Commission and not by Athens. | Mohamed Hossam/EPA

A spokesperson for the Commission said: “What happened in Benghazi was that there was a protocol issue. This is why it was not possible to carry out the planned meetings. The EU will maintain open channels of communication and we will continue working in a ‘team Europe’ approach with all actors involved.” 

The debacle unfolded when the EU party visited the U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, in western Libya, then arrived in Benghazi in the east, which is controlled by Russia-aligned warlord Khalifa Haftar. 

The EU team insisted they wanted to talk to Haftar alone and declined meetings with other officials from the Benghazi government. But Haftar — who is a powerful and influential military figure but is not officially in charge of the civilian administration — wanted senior ministers and aides in the Benghazi government to join, too. 

That triggered a crisis for the EU delegation, since they had already made clear they could not meet with members of the eastern Libyan administration that is not recognized by the U.N.

According to a person familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive issues, initially the EU side said there would be no meeting with Haftar’s ministers, but then decided they would meet them all on the condition that there would be no photographs. Haftar refused and sent the Europeans away. 

One Commission official, also granted anonymity to speak candidly, said they knew there was a risk of a trap being set for the delegation.

But they thought Haftar would rather take the win of being treated as a legitimate figure for the EU to hold discussions with, than try to force Europeans to be photographed meeting the ministers he supports. Another Commission official said what happened was “definitely a blunder” and called for a reassessment of internal policy responsibilities.

“These are events which certainly highlight the European dimension of the problem. There will soon be a reaction from Brussels as well,” the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis told lawmakers on Wednesday while speaking in parliament.

Flows of migrants from Libya to the southern island of Crete are high and “emergency situation requires emergency measures,” he said. The Greek government will submit legislation Thursday “to suspend the examination of asylum applications, initially for three months, for those arriving in Greece from North Africa by sea.”