The European Union’s foreign policy chief received a lukewarm response over a proposal to send EU troops to Libya amid political turmoil and terror threats - despite EU members having participated in bombing the country in 2011.
Four years after a largely Western coalition unleashed an aerial
offensive against Libya, at the time experiencing political
upheaval, the African nation is struggling in the wake of social
breakdown and political crisis. Not to mention the arrival of
members from the radical fundamentalist group, Islamic State (IS,
formerly ISIS).
But now it seems the European Union has better things to do than
get itself involved in Libya this time around.
READ MORE: EU mulls naval blockade of Libya to controls arms, oil & refugee flows
Federica Mogherini presented the idea of dispatching a team of
military and private contractors to Libya in the event that
mediating efforts by the United Nations to form a unity
government bears fruit.
A number of high-ranking EU expressed hesitation over supporting
any military activities in Libya at the present time.
European Council President Donald Tusk expressed strong
reservations about any further intervention in the chaos-riddled
nation.
"Intervening would be the simplest thing but before you do that,
we have to know how to continue afterwards. There needs to be a
long term strategy," he said.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Monday that "we've
got to establish a ceasefire and get some unity ... before we can
talk about how we might support a peace," AP reported.
"We should focus on political integration right now" before
thinking about security options, said Belgian Foreign Minister
Didier Reynders. "It's too early to talk about it."
The EU intends to propose “practical measures” to support the
political process in Libya, Mogherini said ahead of a planned
meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday .
Talks in Morocco between Libya's rival parliaments will resume
this week, UN envoy Bernardino Leon told reporters on Friday.
READ MORE: Around 10 foreigners missing after gunmen attack oil field in Libya – minister
Ever since Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi was forced from power
in 2011 with the assistance of leading EU countries, including
France, Belgium, Denmark and Italy, the North African country has
been a basket case of internal strife.
In August of last year, a group called Operation Libya Dawn,
which is said to be supported by Islamists, took control of the
capital Tripoli, forcing the elected Prime Minister Abdullah
al-Thinni to create a separate government in Tobruk.
But there are other circumstances in Libya that are making EU
ministers hesitant on any further operations in the country.
Mogherini's plans for dispatching European soldiers to Libya
opens up the possibility of a military showdown with members of
Islamic State, which has built a presence for itself in the
north.
Last month, Egyptian fighter jets bombed IS positions after the
group staged a video beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.
Meanwhile, a number of EU countries in relatively close proximity
to Libya, including Italy and France, want the EU to undertake
steps to stabilize the situation, as an increasing number of
refugees are attempting to reach European shores from the
troubled state.
In the event that Brussels gets the green light from European
ministers for an EU military mission to Libya, a request would be
required from Tripoli, as well as a mandate from the UN Security
Council.