President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani has accused France of intervening in Libya to serve its interests after nearly four days of clashes in the suburbs of Tripoli.
Tajani, who is also vice president of the Italian party "Forza Italia", commented on the Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini's statements that the economic interests of a foreign country are behind the military operation launched on the Libyan capital, Tripoli, in an implicit reference to France.
"We have always said that France and Italy have separate interests in Libya, so much so, that Sarkozy was one of the strong supporters of overthrowing and then killing Muammar Gaddafi along with the Americans and the British," Tajani told Italian media.
"France has made a dramatic historical mistake and was hoping for a stronger presence in Libya, but at the end, there is nothing but chaos and we have paid the price, through the continuing migration flows," he added.
He further explained that what is happening now reflects Italy's inability to be the dominion of the situation in Libya, saying that this will open the door for new migration flows.
Tajani stressed that any new civil war in Libya will force hundreds of thousands of people to flee that country, warning that if stability is not established in Libya by this season, there will be 2.5 billion Africans in Europe by 2050.
"If nothing is done now, the situation will become unmanageable," he added, warning that Italy and all Europe will be the first to pay the price, saying "This is why we must move now; Italy, unfortunately, has achieved nothing in Libya".
The EU Parliament head's remarks came on the eve of the EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg, where the military developments in Tripoli imposed itself forcefully on the meeting's agenda, amid obvious and significant disagreements between France, Italy, and Britain.
