Eastern Libya, which is controlled by General Khalifa Haftar, was the setting of a diplomatic clash with the European Union after Benghazi's government on July 8 turned away a delegation of European ministers upon their arrival in the city.

The delegation included the interior ministers of Italy and Malta, and Greece's immigration minister. A statement cited the "flagrant violation of diplomatic norms", notifying delegation members of the "obligation to leave Libyan territory as personae non gratae".

'Flagrant violation of diplomatic norms'

The mission, organized as part of the initiative Team Europe, included the participation of the Italian and Maltese interior ministers, respectively Matteo Piantedosi and Byron Camilleri, Greece's immigration minister, Thanos Plevris, and the commissioner for internal affairs and migration, Magnus Brunner.

It included meetings with both Libyan executives: the internationally-recognized western government of Tripoli led by Abdelhamid Dbeibah, and the eastern one supported by Khalifa Haftar, with the objective of strengthening cooperation in the fight against irregular migration and consolidating relations at the level of security and repatriations.

"The meetings planned in Benghazi could not take place in the end", Brunner wrote on X on July 8, without providing further details on the issue.

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"We just concluded our mission to Libya together with the Ministers responsible for migration from Greece, Italy and Malta. In Tripoli, we held in-depth discussions with Prime Minister Dbeibeh, Foreign Minister Al-Baour, Interior Minister Trabelsi, and Labour Minister Al-Abed. We discussed shared challenges in the area of migration and reaffirmed a joint commitment to combat migrant smuggling. This mission laid the groundwork for broader cooperation", highlighted the commissioner.

Then delegation members travelled to Benghazi in the early afternoon of July 8, where upon their arrival at the airport, due to unspecified "problems with protocol", the self-proclaimed premier of Libya, Osama Saad Hammad, denounced a "flagrant violation of diplomatic norms" and a "disregard for Libyan national sovereignty", rejecting the mission.

In an official statement, the authorities of Cyrenaica accused the delegation of failing to respect procedures regulating the entry of foreign diplomats and of acting unilaterally, without previously coordinating with local authorities.

Athens described the episode as a "grave obstacle to cooperation on repatriations", while Commissioner Brunner stressed the need to involve "all Libyan sides" in European programs.

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Commitment with both sides continues, says Brussels

A day later, a European Commission spokesperson reiterated the executive's involvement with both Libyan sides, noting that the political and security situation in Libya is "critical" and that work will continue "with both actors in the east and the west of the country".

The spokesperson explained that Team Europe's mission in Libya is "important" and at the same time "complex" and that the EU had "fruitful talks" in Tripoli, while the planned meeting in Benghazi could not take place due to a "protocol issue".

Also on Wednesday, in Italy, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi spoke about the incident in Benghazi. The minister told State broadcaster RAI: "Newspapers have spoken about a rejection but there was no rejection. The meeting was cancelled because of resentment on the Libyan side over the overzealousness of some of the EU representatives. The first part of the visit (in Tripoli) had gone very well, with an insightful meeting. If some indiscriminate immigration enthusiasts are happy about what happened, they are wrong to be. We will keep moving forward in the fight against human traffickers. There is a structured relationship with Libya and one incident not handled by our side, albeit a serious one, will not undermine the cooperation we have long had with that country."

Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also spoke about the episode. "There was a misunderstanding between the EU diplomatic representative and the authorities of the Libyan territory where the plane landed," he said.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's a misunderstanding between EU diplomats because it was a mission organized by the EU, not Italy. I hope everything can be clarified as quickly as possible."

Tajani's statements followed those of a European Commission spokesperson who said the "mission in Libya was organized in partnership with member States" and that they would not take part in a 'blame game', replying to a question on who was in charge of managing the meeting between the sides in Benghazi.

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