Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya?

The document argues that EU efforts to secure peace in Libya have been undermined by competing national interests, particularly between France and Italy, and a tendency to prioritize short-term goals like migration externalization and energy resource access. While the EU has successfully used Libya to limit migrant crossings through disputed agreements like the Valletta Memorandum, these same mechanisms have not translated into political stability. The author suggests that the EU should employ multi-track diplomacy and a concerted, unified approach that incorporates Libyan interests to achieve a sustainable peace.

• The EU has prioritized short-term objectives in Libya, specifically the externalization of migration management and the securing of energy resources, over the long-term goal of establishing a stable and peaceful state.
• European migration management in Libya is facilitated by the 2017 Valletta Memorandum between Italy and the Libyan Government of National Accord, a deal supported and partially funded by the EU to limit migrant entries into the Union.
• The externalization of migration has led to human rights concerns, including the containment of migrants in squalid conditions and the empowerment of the Libyan Coast Guard, which has ties to human trafficking.
• Competing economic and political interests between France and Italy have hindered a coherent EU approach to Libyan peace. Italy's interests are tied to the oil company ENI, while France has supported warlord Khalifa Haftar to potentially open doors for the company Total.
• International peace efforts, including the UN-backed Libyan Political Dialogue Forum and Berlin conferences in 2020 and 2021, have managed to establish a tenuous ceasefire but have failed to achieve lasting stability.
• The author proposes that the EU adopt a unified stance and utilize multi-track diplomacy (MTD)—which it has used in Ukraine, Georgia, Mali, and Yemen—to engage Libyan actors and secure peace.

APA

Tjønn, M. H. (2022). Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya? Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/78ea06f5-9c2b-48e2-a414-1a2efa62588e/Tjonn - Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya MidEast Policy Brief 2-2022.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog. Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya? Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2022. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/78ea06f5-9c2b-48e2-a414-1a2efa62588e/Tjonn - Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya MidEast Policy Brief 2-2022.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tjønn |first1=Mathias Hatleskog |title=Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya? |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=February 2022 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/78ea06f5-9c2b-48e2-a414-1a2efa62588e/Tjonn - Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya MidEast Policy Brief 2-2022.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tjnn2022can, author = {Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog}, title = {{Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya?}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/78ea06f5-9c2b-48e2-a414-1a2efa62588e/Tjonn - Can the EU be an Effective Foreign Policy Actor Working for Peace in Libya MidEast Policy Brief 2-2022.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }