“EUROPEAN APPROACH”
The EU, facing a crisis in Iran over the unraveling of the 2015 nuclear deal, now senses an opportunity in Libya after Moscow failed to reach a ceasefire deal with Haftar. Shock over the fallout from U.S. drone strike on an Iranian general on Jan. 3 has galvanized Europeans over Libya, some EU envoys say, settling on a new “European approach”. Britain, France and Germany already this week showed a new determination to pressure Tehran to comply with the Iran accord, triggering a dispute mechanism that could lead to the reimposition of U.N. sanctions. However, with Sunday’s conference on Libya approaching, Italy and France have yet to put aside their differences and rally behind the government in Tripoli. Germany, which sees itself as more neutral than France and Italy, has sought to take the lead, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel investing time in seeking the support from her Russian, Turkish and Egyptian counterparts. The EU’s new leadership in Brussels also wants to be more “geopolitical” and stem the waning of Europe’s influence. It launched into a frenzy of diplomacy in early January amid fears of a Middle East conflagration after the U.S. drone strike in Iran. Top EU officials held talks with Serraj in Brussels, called an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers, held calls with Iran’s president and joined French President Emmanuel Macron at a conference on the Sahel. “We are not trying to have an aggressive external policy ... but the heads of state need a new mindset to be more assertive,” said a senior EU official involved in foreign policy. Friendly foreign governments do want to see the European Union succeed in the world, officials and diplomats said. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has regularly called for EU help to increase pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. Since Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear accord and reimposed U.S. sanctions, Tehran has repeatedly called on the EU to save a nuclear deal by keeping trade channels open. But with Britain, one of Europe’s two main military powers with France, leaving the European Union, the EU could find it hard to live up to its ambitions. Neither the EU nor NATO have plans to deploy troops in Libya. The EU naval operation, Sofia, which rescued migrants off the Libyan coast and helped enforce an arms embargo, has been taken off the water, and European allies have rejected U.S. calls at NATO to help patrol Gulf shipping lanes. Sometimes just agreeing statements has proved too divisive. “The positive sign is that everyone now agrees this is unsustainable,” said Bruno Macaes, a former Europe minister for Portugal and now a foreign policy consultant.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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