Nikolas Farantouris says Athens was caught off guard and diplomatically isolated, commenting on the approval of the Turkish-Libyan memorandum by the eastern Libyan parliament, based in Benghazi.
“An extremely adverse development, but one that no one can claim to have been taken by surprise. We had warned,” he said.
The MEP says that in January 2026, during a meeting in Tripoli with the prime minister of the Libyan government, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and the oil minister, he raised the issue in clear terms, stressing that cooperation with Europe requires respect for international law and that the Turkish-Libyan memorandum must be withdrawn.
The shift in Benghazi
Commenting on the change of position by the Benghazi parliament, which he says had previously rejected the memorandum, Mr Farantouris criticises Greek foreign policy, citing a lack of strategy and diplomatic isolation.
“Foreign policy is judged not by photographs but by results,” he says, adding that contacts and meetings are not enough: developments must be anticipated and national interests actively defended.
“The country needs strategy and active diplomacy. It needs political change now,” he concludes.