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Russia Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU delegation expelled from eastern Libya
Libya's eastern government has barred the European Union migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta, and Greece from entering the region, accusing them of violating the North African nation's sovereignty. The delegation had been scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Osama Hammad's Government of National Stability (GNS) in Benghazi, following earlier talks with the rival, internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) in the national capital, Tripoli. However, upon arrival at Benina Airport in Benghazi on Tuesday, the visit of the EU officials, 'along with their accompanying delegation, was rescinded,' Hammad said in a statement on Facebook. He added that the team had failed to 'adhere to the stipulated procedures governing the entry, movement, and residency of foreign diplomatic personnel' in breach of Libyan laws. The group included EU Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, and Maltese Minister for Home Affairs Byron Camilleri. 'They were duly informed of the imperative to depart Libyan territory forthwith and were declared persona non grata,' he stated. The oil-rich nation has remained conflict-torn and split between two competing administrations since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi more than a decade ago. Libya became a major transit hub for human trafficking and migration to Europe via the Mediterranean after the assassination of Gaddafi in 2011. Earlier on Tuesday, the EU team discussed efforts to combat illegal migration and human smuggling with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah of the Tripoli-based government. During the meeting, Dbeibah warned that Libya is locked in a battle against criminal gangs and armed groups exploiting irregular migration, a crisis he said requires urgent global cooperation. The prime minister said he had directed the Interior Ministry to develop a national plan to address migration, 'based on practical cooperation with partners and reflecting a clear political will to build sustainable solutions.' He also announced plans to sign a formal agreement with the EU to institutionalize cooperation and 'effectively ensure burden-sharing' and stability in Libya and the region.
Washington Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
EU migration delegation ordered deported from eastern Libya on alleged entry violations
CAIRO — Authorities in eastern Libya refused entry to three European ministers and the EU commissioner for migration on alleged entry violations, apparently after they stopped first in the rival Libyan capital of Tripoli in the west. A statement from the prime minister of the eastern part of Libya, Osama Hammad, said the interior ministers of Italy, Greece, Malta and the EU migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, were 'persona non-grata' after they were denied entry shortly after their arrival in Benghazi. It said the ministers had entered illegally and had not followed Libyan diplomatic conventions.
08-07-2025
- Politics
EU migration delegation ordered deported from eastern Libya on alleged entry violations
CAIRO -- CAIRO (AP) — Authorities in eastern Libya refused entry to three European ministers and the EU commissioner for migration on alleged entry violations, apparently after they stopped first in the rival Libyan capital of Tripoli in the west. A statement from the prime minister of the eastern part of Libya, Osama Hammad, said the interior ministers of Italy, Greece, Malta and the EU migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, were 'persona non-grata' after they were denied entry shortly after their arrival in Benghazi. It said the ministers had entered illegally and had not followed Libyan diplomatic conventions. The ministers were in 'flagrant contravention of established diplomatic norms and international conventions, and through actions that demonstrably disregard Libyan national sovereignty, as well as in violation of Libyan domestic laws,' the statement said. The delegations 'are urged to engage with the Libyan Government in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, as enshrined in international agreements, treaties, and diplomatic custom,' it added. In addition to Brunner, the delegation included Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri. The delegation was visiting Libya seeking tougher migration measures against boats carrying migrants from Libya. The EU has spent years and millions of euros trying to stem the people smuggling operations that have thrived in Libya's lawlessness and brought hundreds of thousands of desperate people to European shores. Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the country split, with rival administrations in the east and west backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. Currently, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah heads the internationally recognized government in the capital of Tripoli in the west while Hammad heads the administration in the east, where the powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter continues to also hold sway. The EU delegation had met first with Dbeibah, and the deportation incident was apparently caused because the European delegation stopped first in Tripoli, said Greek Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hadzidakis. Usually foreigners including diplomats coordinate with both administrations if they want to visit western and eastern Libya. Speaking to state-run ERT television in Greece, Hadzidakis said the Tripoli meeting went ahead as planned. 'However, in Benghazi —perhaps because the visit to Tripoli came first — the Benghazi government decided it would not receive the European Commissioner and the three ministers. I don't think that was a constructive move, especially given that the European Union is genuinely trying to find a solution to this very unusual situation — just as it has tried with our other southern and eastern neighbors — on a complex issue like migration." For southern and eastern Libya, which are under the control of Hifter's forces, visitors have to coordinate and get permits from the east-based government, which is allied with Hifter. It's not clear if such permits were sought or granted. In Italy, opposition lawmakers who have criticized the hard-line stance against migration of the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni were quick to point out the irony that her migration minister was deported from a country on alleged immigration violations. 'Piantedosi was turned back from Libya because he was accused of illegal entry,' Democratic Party lawmaker Matteo Orfini wrote on Facebook. 'I was thinking of an ironic comment but I'd say that's good as is.'
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EU migration delegation ordered deported from eastern Libya on alleged entry violations
CAIRO (AP) — Authorities in eastern Libya refused entry to three European ministers and the EU commissioner for migration on alleged entry violations, apparently after they stopped first in the rival Libyan capital of Tripoli in the west. A statement from the prime minister of the eastern part of Libya, Osama Hammad, said the interior ministers of Italy, Greece, Malta and the EU migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, were 'persona non-grata' after they were denied entry shortly after their arrival in Benghazi. It said the ministers had entered illegally and had not followed Libyan diplomatic conventions. The ministers were in 'flagrant contravention of established diplomatic norms and international conventions, and through actions that demonstrably disregard Libyan national sovereignty, as well as in violation of Libyan domestic laws,' the statement said. The delegations 'are urged to engage with the Libyan Government in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, as enshrined in international agreements, treaties, and diplomatic custom,' it added. In addition to Brunner, the delegation included Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri. The delegation was visiting Libya seeking tougher migration measures against boats carrying migrants from Libya. The EU has spent years and millions of euros trying to stem the people smuggling operations that have thrived in Libya's lawlessness and brought hundreds of thousands of desperate people to European shores. Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the country split, with rival administrations in the east and west backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. Currently, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah heads the internationally recognized government in the capital of Tripoli in the west while Hammad heads the administration in the east, where the powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter continues to also hold sway. The EU delegation had met first with Dbeibah, and the deportation incident was apparently caused because the European delegation stopped first in Tripoli, said Greek Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hadzidakis. Usually foreigners including diplomats coordinate with both administrations if they want to visit western and eastern Libya. Speaking to state-run ERT television in Greece, Hadzidakis said the Tripoli meeting went ahead as planned. 'However, in Benghazi —perhaps because the visit to Tripoli came first — the Benghazi government decided it would not receive the European Commissioner and the three ministers. I don't think that was a constructive move, especially given that the European Union is genuinely trying to find a solution to this very unusual situation — just as it has tried with our other southern and eastern neighbors — on a complex issue like migration." For southern and eastern Libya, which are under the control of Hifter's forces, visitors have to coordinate and get permits from the east-based government, which is allied with Hifter. It's not clear if such permits were sought or granted. In Italy, opposition lawmakers who have criticized the hard-line stance against migration of the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni were quick to point out the irony that her migration minister was deported from a country on alleged immigration violations. 'Piantedosi was turned back from Libya because he was accused of illegal entry,' Democratic Party lawmaker Matteo Orfini wrote on Facebook. 'I was thinking of an ironic comment but I'd say that's good as is.'
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
EU migration delegation ordered deported from eastern Libya on alleged entry violations
Authorities in eastern Libya refused entry to three European ministers and the EU commissioner for migration on alleged entry violations, apparently after they stopped first in the rival Libyan capital of Tripoli in the west. A statement from the prime minister of the eastern part of Libya, Osama Hammad, said the interior ministers of Italy, Greece, Malta and the EU migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, were 'persona non-grata' after they were denied entry shortly after their arrival in Benghazi. It said the ministers had entered illegally and had not followed Libyan diplomatic conventions. The ministers were in 'flagrant contravention of established diplomatic norms and international conventions, and through actions that demonstrably disregard Libyan national sovereignty, as well as in violation of Libyan domestic laws,' the statement said. The delegations 'are urged to engage with the Libyan Government in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, as enshrined in international agreements, treaties, and diplomatic custom,' it added. In addition to Brunner, the delegation included Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri. The delegation was visiting Libya seeking tougher migration measures against boats carrying migrants from Libya. The EU has spent years and millions of euros trying to stem the people smuggling operations that have thrived in Libya's lawlessness and brought hundreds of thousands of desperate people to European shores. Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the country split, with rival administrations in the east and west backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. Currently, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah heads the internationally recognized government in the capital of Tripoli in the west while Hammad heads the administration in the east, where the powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter continues to also hold sway. The EU delegation had met first with Dbeibah, and the deportation incident was apparently caused because the European delegation stopped first in Tripoli, said Greek Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hadzidakis. Usually foreigners including diplomats coordinate with both administrations if they want to visit western and eastern Libya. Speaking to state-run ERT television in Greece, Hadzidakis said the Tripoli meeting went ahead as planned. 'However, in Benghazi —perhaps because the visit to Tripoli came first — the Benghazi government decided it would not receive the European Commissioner and the three ministers. I don't think that was a constructive move, especially given that the European Union is genuinely trying to find a solution to this very unusual situation — just as it has tried with our other southern and eastern neighbors — on a complex issue like migration." For southern and eastern Libya, which are under the control of Hifter's forces, visitors have to coordinate and get permits from the east-based government, which is allied with Hifter. It's not clear if such permits were sought or granted. In Italy, opposition lawmakers who have criticized the hard-line stance against migration of the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni were quick to point out the irony that her migration minister was deported from a country on alleged immigration violations. 'Piantedosi was turned back from Libya because he was accused of illegal entry,' Democratic Party lawmaker Matteo Orfini wrote on Facebook. 'I was thinking of an ironic comment but I'd say that's good as is.'
