EU Has Long Worked with Libya’s Haftar on Migration Issues
For years, the European Commission has been talking with representatives from eastern Libya, including General Khalifa Haftar’s military, about migration. These talks have mostly been “technical,” meaning they involve EU officials and Libyan authorities but no top political leaders. Recently, the EU has started engaging with eastern Libya at a more political level.
This week, the European Commission and Frontex, the EU border agency, are hosting a Libyan delegation for two “technical visits.” Meetings will be held in Brussels and at Frontex headquarters in Warsaw.
The meetings will include representatives from the eastern Libyan government and its military, even though they are not officially recognized internationally. An EU official said that meeting with them is nothing new.
“These technical meetings have been happening in Brussels and Libya for several years,” the official said. Technical meetings are called that because they involve only civil servants, not political leaders.
Topics will include controlling irregular migration from Libya while respecting human rights, another EU official said.
The talks come after Libyan authorities announced plans to help migrants return voluntarily from centers they control back to their home countries.
Libya is a key country for the EU regarding migration. According to Frontex, the route from eastern Libya to Crete saw a 280% increase in September compared to 2024. Overall departures from Libya are up 50% from last year.
‘Friends of Putin’
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been divided, with rival factions and many militias across the country.
Khalifa Haftar and his son Saddam have built close political and military ties with Russia. Khalifa Haftar even visited Moscow officially in May this year. Russia has military bases in eastern Libya, including near Benghazi and in Tobruk, a city often used for migrant departures and where Haftar’s main army base is located.
Saddam Haftar also leads a sea brigade, Tariq Bin Ziyad, which has intercepted migrant boats in international waters in coordination with European authorities.
Haftar also has good relations with Egypt, the UAE, and the US, where he lived in exile during Gaddafi’s rule.
Eastern Libyan officials are visiting Warsaw, where Frontex is based, for the first time.
Two Frontex officials told Euronews that there is strong pressure from Brussels to work with Libya. They said Frontex will cooperate, but “any work must respect human rights and the rule of law.”
For Frontex, this is the first meeting with Libyan officials in years, and possibly the first time they have met officials from eastern Libya, one of the officials said. “I don’t know of any previous contacts,” they added.
The visit will let the Libyan delegation learn about Frontex’s work and how it supports EU countries at their borders, another official explained.
EU-Libya Cooperation Changes
The EU has worked with Libya on migration since 2013, mainly with the government in Tripoli.
But in a June 2025 letter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU should also work with authorities in eastern Libya to improve border management and fight migrant smuggling.
Since then, some EU countries have started diplomatic talks with eastern Libyan authorities.
However, the first attempt had problems. In July, European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner visited Benghazi with ministers from Italy, Greece, and Malta. The visit caused a diplomatic incident: Brunner and the European officials were expelled.
An EU official said the problem began because the delegation refused to take a photo with eastern Libyan leaders before meeting Haftar’s military. In response, Libyan authorities declared the EU officials “persona non grata” and asked them to leave.
Even though EU officials stress human rights in their migration work, UN agencies, civil society groups, and journalists report ongoing abuses, torture, and detention of migrants in Libya and at sea, sometimes involving rescuers and fishermen.
In July, Amnesty International criticized EU-Libya cooperation as “morally bankrupt,” saying it contributes to serious human rights violations and shows disregard for the safety and dignity of migrants.
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