Insight
The EU’s new Libya operation is flawed by Luigi Scazzieri 8 April 2020
The EU’s new Libya operation follows years of criticism that the Union has not done enough to end the conflict. But Operation Irini risks making matters worse unless Europeans are willing to increase diplomatic pressure on Haftar’s backers to secure a ceasefire. Time will tell if the European Union should have chosen a less ambitious name for its new military operation in the Mediterranean to enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya. Operation Irini – Greek for “peace” – launched on March 31st, will use ships, as well as aerial and satellite assets, to prevent arms entering Libya in an effort to help resolve the country’s long-running civil war. EU High Representative Josep Borrell said that while only political solutions could solve the Libyan crisis, “diplomacy cannot succeed unless it is backed by action”, and stated the EU would “play its part”. But the EU’s new operation is flawed, and risks fuelling more fighting while also undermining Europe’s credibility as an honest broker in Libya. Libya has been mired in fighting since mid-2014, three years after a NATO-led military intervention overthrew Muammar Gaddafi. However, the conflict escalated in April 2019 when military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive against the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, laying siege to the city. The EU has struggled to have much influence over the conflict, even though it is on its doorstep, while other countries have become increasingly involved. Egypt and the UAE have backed Haftar for many years, and more recently Russia has also provided him with support. Meanwhile, Turkey has backed the GNA, and in January began to provide it with military assistance in exchange for a controversial maritime agreement that divided up much of the Eastern Mediterranean between Turkey and Libya, infuriating Greece because it ignored its Exclusive Economic Zone around Crete. Operation Irini is the EU’s latest attempt to play a more significant role in resolving Libya’s conflict. It replaces Operation Sophia, a maritime mission launched in 2015 primarily to disrupt human trafficking from North Africa to Europe and train Libya’s coastguard, although it also aimed to police the arms embargo. Irini’s main focus is enforcing the UN embargo, although the operation will also monitor illicit exports of Libyan oil, curb human trafficking, and train the Libyan coastguard. It was not easy for
CER INSIGHT: The EU’s new Libya operation is flawed 8 April 2020
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