The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has suggested that the extraordinary circumstances created by the recent disaster of Hurricane Daniel in eastern Libya could provide an opportunity for a national dialogue on the future of the country. Borrell emphasized the EU’s readiness to support this dialogue in any way possible.
Borrell reiterated that the EU’s support for Libya remains steadfast, whether through direct assistance or cooperation with the United Nations and its agencies, along with the UN Special Envoy to Libya, Abdullah Bahtel.
The European diplomatic coordinator referred to his recent meeting with UN Special Envoy Bahtel, where they evaluated the ongoing political crisis in Libya, which has persisted for over a decade. Borrell noted the irony of Libya, a nation rich in resources and located just a few hundred kilometers off the EU’s shores, enduring a terrible natural disaster linked to climate change and neglect.
Since 2011, Libya has been plagued by political chaos, with deep-seated divisions between the west, represented by Tripoli, and the east, centered in Benghazi. Foreign interventions have exacerbated these divisions, and the country has repeatedly seen an influx of weapons, mercenaries, and foreign terrorist fighters.
Borrell underscored Bahtel’s call, made before the United Nations Security Council in August, for the formation of a unified transitional government tasked solely with overseeing the upcoming elections. He emphasized that this government should be composed of technocrats, focused exclusively on election oversight.
The EU’s High Representative pointed out that Bahtel’s plan, based on dialogue among key Libyan stakeholders, remains the EU’s only viable option for achieving a lasting political solution in Libya.