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It is time Europe united to help stabilize Libya

Libya, these past years, has been a battlefield from the East to the West.

External factors play a crucial role in Libya's stability making the peace process difficult.
Libya whose oil reserves are the largest in Africa and among the tenth largest globally has been a magnet for European ambitions and a source of conflict among several countries, especially France and Italy.
ENI (a multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome) is Libya's largest foreign oil producer and clearly wishes to continue this way and not see France take over the industry established in Libya decades ago. France, on the other hand, is particularly interested in the south of Libya, as a result of her vital interests in Mali and the rest of the Sahel African countries, especially the uranium mines in the north of Niger.
Libya, these past years, has been a battlefield from the East to the West. The truth, is no one seems to be able to put an end to this civil war which has become a reflection of the regional antagonisms supported by Western powers.
Several initiatives in this direction have only faced deep political rivalries that dot the country. Even as the two rival governments - one in the western capital Tripoli and another in the east - continue to claim power, warlord Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army recently launched its offensive on Tripoli where the internationally recognised government is based.
A meeting in Abu Dhabi on February 23 brought together the two protagonists,  Fayez El Sarraj, Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya and prime minister of the Government of National Accord of Libya, and Khalifa Haftar in the presence of the UNSG special representative Ghassan Salameh and the US Ambassador to Libya Peter Bodde. While during the meeting all parties agreed to the sharing of power between Sarraj and Haftar, interference from some regional parties clearly blocked the way to any peace project.
The UN Security Council in the meantime unanimously adopted a resolution renewing for an additional year the mandate of member states to inspect vessels suspected of violating the arms embargo against Libya. Just recently, the confirmation of the presence of Turkish-made "Bayraktar TB2" drone aircraft in the Libyan capital of Tripoli added a new chapter to a long series of incidents where armed conflict in the Middle East is used as a testing ground for weapons and systems.
No peace can happen in Libya if the Muslim Brotherhood allies continue to meddle directly or indirectly in this country.
Just last week a European Monitoring Commission gathered in Tripoli, a first visit to the country to be followed by many, with the intention of meeting with all parties. "We do not represent the European Union but we came from different European countries, and we represent more than 15 nationalities such as France, Great Britain and Italy.  It was an initiative decided by academics, researchers, politicians, journalists, to understand ground realities and to help Libyans come out of what appears to be a military and political blockage. We wish to carry our mission to the Libyan people from the East to the West without taking sides," Emmanuel Deputy, President of the Institute for European Perspective and security based in Paris told Khaleej Times.
The foreign ministers of Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria also met last week in Tunis to discuss the development of the situation of their Libyan neighbour.
Libya, a hub for human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, necessitates a real effort to establish an intra-European strategy while working with local partners to tackle the issue. It is also worth mentioning that Libya's devastated economy could lead to a real catastrophe.
Instead of fighting over economic interests in Libya, it is time countries got together and charted out a roadmap to facilitate a ceasefire and help create stability in Libya. Europe, on its part, should not repeat its mistakes in Syria which led to the rise of Daesh and a long civil war which claimed thousands of lives. Such efforts will help end the rise in terrorism in the country and also secure the borders with Europe.
Christiane Waked is a Political analyst based in Beirut