Libyan sources told the Italian news agency Nova that the Government of National Unity headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah refused to appoint Italian diplomat Nicola Orlando as EU ambassador to Libya.
The sources, whose identity the Italian agency did not reveal, added that the decision to refuse to appoint the former ambassador to Italy in Kosovo was made a few weeks ago, while Nova did not mention the reasons for this rejection, and Dbeibah's government did not publicly declare its stance on the issue.
The European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, announced last April the nomination of the Italian diplomat Nicola Orlando as head of the EU Mission to Libya to succeed the Spanish Jose Sabadell, according to what was reported by the Italian news agency Aki.
Aki added that at the time, Orlando's appointment came as part of a series of announced appointments of EU ambassadors who would assume their duties after the approval of the relevant host countries.
Sabadell announced the end of his mission, Thursday, after spending three years in Libya, during which he said he had noticed the great security improvement, but indicated that Libya still lacked “political consensus”.
