By Mediterraneo & Medio Oriente
The EU heads of state and government met in Malta to discuss the “external dimension of migration“.The spotlight was put on the Central Mediterranean route and, particularly, on Libya.
The aim was to step up cooperation with the Libyan authorities in order to implement immediate measures to “stem migratory flows, break the business model of smugglers and save lives“. However, if viable ways out of Libya’s current political stalemate are not found, an effective cooperation will prove difficult to achieve.
Since 2014, political power in Libya has been split between two rival governments in Tripoli and Tobruk.
Fayez al–Serraj’s UN–backed Government of National Accord is rapidly losing ground, while the growing power of general Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army is hindering the country’s political transition.Moreover, a number of local and external actors struggling for power and hegemony make the situation even more difficult.
Such impasse signals the pressing need to rethink the country’s political transition in a more inclusive way.Which role should Europe and other international and regional actors play in this crisis? And which priorities should be set?
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This dossier presents the following articles:
1- Chaos in Libya: A Background (Who is Who in Libya)
2- Time for action: EU and a new political initiative
By Arturo Varvelli (ISPI )
3- Once and for All, a New Compromise in Libya?
By Virginie Collombier – European University Institute (Fiesole)
4- The US and Libya: Searching for a Strategy
By Karim Mezran (Atlantic Council)
5- The Haftar–Russia link and the Military Plan of the LNA
By Wolfgang Pusztai (Security and policy analyst, former Austrian Defence Attaché to Libya)
6- Egypt’s Security and Haftar: Al–Sisi’s Strategy in Libya
By Giuseppe Dentice (Catholic University)
7- What Libyans really want
By Sami Zaptia (Editor – Libya Herald)
8- Stuck in Libya: Migrants and (Our) Political Responsibilities By Nancy Porsia (Freelance journalist in Libya)
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