EU-Libya fallout: Should the European Union hold talks with Khalifa Haftar?
Officially, Brussels is cooperating with the government of national unity based in Tripoli. However, exchanges are also taking place with General Khalifa Haftar, who controls large swaths of Libya's east. The last visit turned into a fiasco.
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00:06Why did the EU want to meet Marshal Haftar, the strongman of Eastern Libya?
00:11The Commissioner for Migration and three European ministers were expelled from Libya on Tuesday due to a protocol problem, according to Brussels.
00:18After a meeting with the Libyan government in Tripoli, the European delegation was supposed to meet Marshal Haftar in Benghazi.
00:25But Haftar reportedly tried to force the EU's hand by imposing the presence of his ministers.
00:30It was simply a ruse by Haftar to try to legitimize this government in the civilian face of his military dictatorship.
00:37And so when the ruse didn't work, and when the EU ambassador and other diplomats said that they are unable to meet with the government,
00:45while Haftar, as the English say, he threw his toys out of the pram.
00:50He PNG'd the European diplomats and essentially sent them back to Europe because he was not able to use them for this political charade that he was trying to pull off.
01:03Libya is divided in two. In the west of the country, the UN-recognized government of national unity is led by Prime Minister Abd al-Hamid de Beba.
01:12The east is controlled by his rival Marshal Khalifa Haftar, head of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army.
01:18The European Union cooperates with Libya to combat illegal immigration and smuggling networks.
01:24In recent years, crossings to Europe from eastern Libya have been on the rise.
01:29The EU has been collaborating both from the EU and from the member states, especially from Italy,
01:35with the Libyan Coast Guard in the west to try to somehow cut down the flows of migration.
01:43And the EU has also been supporting the efforts of the Libyans to take back the migrants once they're back on Libyan soil.
01:51That, of course, has been controversial because there's been a lot of questions about their human rights,
01:55about the treatment that they receive when they're in Libya.
01:59However, there are questions about the EU's need to meet Marshal Haftar.
02:04We are empowering a Russian proxy who is antagonistic to European interests.
02:10And so, you know, once we clear away all of the mess of the current crisis,
02:14it becomes quite clear that what Europe really needs in Libya is a stable government and a sovereign government.
02:20In particular, he accuses the Haftar family of using migration as a tool to obtain concessions from the EU.
02:26In recent days, Greek islands have seen a large influx of migrants from Libya.
02:31In general, the U.S. is improved by a coastal country by a customer that is also remained at a restaurant in Libya.
02:32A sixth-year-old water, a main risk of the US.
02:33In recent days, the US is a global network.
02:34A fourth-year-old water is not really developed by Luxury.
02:37In recent days, the U.S. is considere the EU.
02:38In recent days, the EU cau stocks have been empowered by the country.
02:40In the moment of modern water, it is not really being a bearer.
02:41Will come to see, the EU ?
02:42As a business owner of Turkey, the EU is a former native should have been developed.
02:43In more general area?
02:46In other states i.
02:47In a future, in order of the EU, the EU, it is not going to expand the EU.
02:50It is not very much like that.
02:51The EU has been challenged to do that the EU.
