By Abdullah Al-Kabir, a Libyan writer 

The EU Observer website published a document on a plan that the European Union is studying to deploy military forces in Libya, in a European effort to balance the military presence of a country that the document did not mention by name, only referring to it as the third country. It is understood from the context of the report that it is Turkey, and that the European Union must send military forces to Libya to compete with it, under the cover of assisting the national government in disarming the armed factions, integrating fighters and building the security sector. 
The European Union did not take the Libyan crisis seriously and its response was not up to the challenge, and it lacked the initiative to help Libya extend its control over its vast borders, leaving the agenda of European countries competing, wrestling and clashing in Libya, especially Italy and France. 
Perhaps the Berlin l conference was the beginning of the European awakening to remedy the misfortunes, returning to the exercise of an active and leading role in the Libyan crisis, especially with the progress of Russia and Turkey, which play the largest role alongside America in the Libyan crisis, and then the reinforcement of the Berlin ll Conference. However, the results are limited so far. The main goal of the European agenda is to reduce Russian and Turkish influence by removing their military forces, which would give them an advantage in influencing Libyan politics, controlling oil and gas flows and irregular migration, as well as the strategic threat that Russia poses to some European countries. 
The document's focus on Turkey as the third country, without referring to Russia, reveals the French fingerprints on the details of the leaked document, because France sees Turkey as a threat to its interests and influence in the entire region, not only in Libya. Although the real threat in the French spheres of influence, by provoking unrest in Chad and Mali, was behind the Russian Wagner groups, not Turkey. 
The document calls on the European Union to support the Libyan authorities in securing the southern borders, which will make it easier for France to besiege the Turkish presence, provide more support to its ally Haftar, and help him extend his control over the south, with the legitimate cover of the internationally recognized Libyan government. 
France realizes that it is unable to confront Turkey alone, so it sought during the past year to mobilize NATO countries and failed, then tried to pass its agenda through the European Union, and only succeeded in disrupting the union's adoption of a strong position on the Tripoli war. And here the attempt is repeated through the document leaked to the Observer website, and perhaps the leak is intended by a European country to thwart the scheme, which appears to be neutral between the parties to the conflict, and aims to adopt a plan to protect European security, but among the lines emerges a French agenda that seeks to undermine the Turkish presence in Libya through the use of European Union’s force. 
France's policy in Libya lacked pragmatism, as French political and economic interests were no longer the compass guiding it, it is a policy that reflects ideological blindness. The current authority in France is governed by Islamic phobia, and sees any Islamic revival in the eastern Mediterranean as an existential threat that must be confronted, while it does not issue any real reaction to the Russian incursion into its former African colonies. 
France will do the same, continuing attempts in different ways, with different slogans and methods, to push the European Union to adopt the French agenda in Libya, and because of differing visions, and different interests of countries, and the return of Britain by an independent decision of the Union, with a strong position against the Russian presence in Libya, France will reap more failures, as it is imperative to succumb to the American-British position. The real threat is Russia, not NATO ally and member Turkey. The international consensus at the Berlin Conference and the Security Council is for all foreign fighters to leave Libya, while maintaining the military balance in order to avoid another war.

 

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Libya Observer

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