Eastern Libya’s parallel Government of National Stability on 8 July ordered EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner and the interior ministers of Italy, Greece and Malta to leave the country immediately after their aircraft landed at Benina Airport in Benghazi. The delegation, declared “persona non grata,” had travelled from Tripoli, where it had met the internationally recognised government, for follow-up talks on migration control with officials aligned to General Khalifa Haftar. Benghazi authorities cited unspecified “violations” of Libyan sovereignty and diplomatic protocol in cancelling the visit. The European Commission later described the confrontation as a “protocol issue” while stressing that channels with both western and eastern Libyan actors will remain open. Malta’s Interior Minister Byron Camilleri confirmed that the planned meetings were abandoned, and Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert said the delegation had been part of a broader “Team Europe” effort to deepen cooperation on migration management. The incident underscores the political rift between Libya’s rival administrations and complicates European efforts to stem irregular crossings in the central Mediterranean. Arrivals on the Greek island of Crete, primarily from ports controlled by Haftar, rose 350 percent to more than 7,100 in the first half of 2025, and Italy continues to rely on Libyan cooperation to curb boat departures toward its own shores.