Paying the Warlords: The Cynical Economics of EU Border Control in Libya

As the European Union seeks to further fortify its external borders, its Home Affairs Council met in Luxembourg on June 8 to finalize a common policy on establishing controversial “return hubs” in third countries under an overhauled Return Regulation framework.

Outraged local residents blockaded the entrances to the UNHCR headquarters and IOM offices with mounds of sand, protesting what they view as a deliberate attempt to turn their country into a permanent containment zone for Europe’s rejected migrants.

The timing is far from coincidental: to make these return centers operational, European policymakers rely heavily on a fractured North Africa to absorb the human pressure.

To understand the rage that brought trucks of sand to the gates of UN agencies in Al-Sarraj and Janzour, west of Tripoli, one must look at how ordinary Libyans perceive the mechanics of European policy on the ground.

For over a decade, successive deals between Brussels, individual EU member states, and various Libyan factions have effectively turned the country into a northern buffer zone. Through millions of euros in funding for the Libyan Coast Guard and interdiction programs, the EU has successfully forced tens of thousands of intercepted migrants back onto Libyan shores, where they remain trapped in a legal and operational limbo