European authorities seek to reassert their role in the conflict and counter Turkish and Russian influence

EU considers lifting sanctions on Tobruk parliament leader to facilitate peace negotiations in Libya

PHOTO/AFP - From left to right, Libya's National Army Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament based in the eastern city of Tobruk, Aguilah Saleh Issa, the Prime Minister of Libya's National Accord Government, Fayez Sarraj, and the President of Libya's High Council of State, Khaled Mechri, attend an International Congress on Libya at the Elysée Palace in Paris on 29 May 2018

Celia López

10 de septiembre de 2020 (13:01 h.)

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The European Union is considering lifting the sanctions on the leader of the Tobruk Parliament, Aguila Saleh, to facilitate peace negotiations in Libya, according to the statements made by three diplomats obtained exclusively by the Reuters agency. Saleh heads a legislative chamber in the eastern part of the country which claims sovereignty over the internationally recognised Tripoli-headed Government of National Accord (GNA). After months of inaction, the European powers see an opportunity to reaffirm their role in Libya, which has been in turmoil since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, following a ceasefire in August and to counter the growing Turkish and Russian military involvement in the territory.

Brussels had put Aguilah Saleh on the blacklist for obstructing the peace agreements in Libya, but now diplomats have recognised the key role it is playing in bringing the two sides of the conflict together. "We are heading towards the delisting of Saleh. He is holding talks with all the actors involved and his mediation is vital," an EU diplomat told Reuters. Saleh is subject to travel restrictions and the freezing of his banking assets. Nouri Abusahmain, President of the Libyan National General Congress in Tripoli, and Khalifa al-Ghwell, Prime Minister of the Tripoli government, are also being sanctioned by the European authorities, although work is being done to remove them.

A ceasefire was declared by the Government of National Accord (GNA) at the end of August and the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Marshall Khalifa Haftar, which defends the legitimacy of the Tobruk parliament, has lifted the blockade on the oil installations. Saleh has called for a cessation of hostilities in order to reach new agreements.

The resolution of the Libyan conflict is of major interest to the European Union because of the closeness of the North African country to European borders and also because of the close energy supply that the nation can provide. Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, wants to show the EU's firm position in this scenario and has met with Fayez Sarraj, the leader of the GNA, in recent weeks. "Now there is an opportunity for the EU to move. Borrell is putting pressure on EU states to realise how close he is and how important Libya is," a European diplomat told Reuters.

The European Union has also agreed to add sanctions on two people and three Libyan companies, including those linked to the maritime and air sectors, as part of the efforts to enforce the United Nations arms embargo on the North African country. The final agreement could be reached by the end of this month, although the EU governments are still bogged down in negotiations with Turkey over the dispute over energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean. In order for the sanctions to be lifted, the 27 states of the European Union need to reach an agreement, and the process could therefore be smoothed out beyond the end of the month.