EU to abolish civilian sanctions on Libya

Date: 09/09/1999

By Simon Taylor

THE EU is planning to scrap all non-military sanctions on Libya, according to Union officials.

But the move will increase tensions with the US, which believes that it is too early to start normalising relations with Libya.

EU foreign ministers are expected to agree to end all civilian restrictions on Libya at a meeting next week, although the ban on selling arms to Tripoli will remain in place for the time being.

The main sanctions involve restrictions on the granting visas to Libyan officials and leading figures from Colonel Gaddafy's regime. These were put on hold in April following Tripoli's decision to cooperate with EU countries over the trial of two men suspected of involvement in the bombing of a PanAm flight in 1988 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.

All 15 Union governments are now said to be in favour of abolishing the restrictions definitively, with most pressure for improving relations coming from the UK, Italy and France. Germany is believed to have technical concerns about the visa rules, but is expected to support lifting the sanctions.

The EU's move is, however, bound to be seen as premature by the US, which wants to continue treating Libya as a pariah state. The Union has already fallen out with Washington over US measures to penalise companies which do business with Libyan firms.

The move to lift the civilian sanctions definitively follows a report by the United Nations published in June which found that Libya had ended its links with terrorist groups.

Officials say that abolishing the measures would simplify business practices between western countries and Libya. They piont out that the visa restrictions have made it difficult to maintain commercial links with the country and say many western firms have scaled back their operations. French and Italian oil companies have the biggest business interests in Libya.

The major factor behind the rethink of relations with Libya has been Tripoli's willingness to cooperate with the international community over terrorist incidents such as the Lockerbie bombing. One EU diplomat said that the move was a response to this new approach. "The attitude and practice has changed," he said.

Earlier this year, Libya handed over two men suspected of being involved in the 1988 crash to stand trial under Scottish law in a special court set up in the Netherlands. That trial is expected to begin later this year.

Despite the headway being made in relations with Libya, EU officials feel it is still too early to offer the country full membership in its EuroMed programme. Earlier this year Libya was invited to become an observer of the scheme, which provides a framework for cooperation with Mediterranean countries in a range of economic and political. fields.