The European Commission has come out against ideas to replicate the EU-Turkey migrant deal with Libya, an idea floated by Joseph Muscat, the EU Observer reported today.
EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told MEPs in the civil liberties committee that Libya was too unstable.
"Let me tell you that we cannot duplicate the EU-Turkey statement, the situation is not similar in Libya," he said.
The EU last March agreed with Turkey to halt migrants from moving to the EU in return for billions in humanitarian aid and political perks, such as visa-free travel to Europe for Turkish nationals.
We cannot duplicate the EU-Turkey statement, the situation is not similar in Libya
Migration is set to feature in an EU leaders' summit in Malta on Friday week.
EU efforts to work with the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, the GNA, have fallen foul of the difficult security situation in the country, where local warlords, militias, and tribal groups continue to undermine the GNA’s authority, EU Observer said.
Avramopoulos said the EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, had tried, without much success, to establish contact with the Libyan authorities.