ID :
167611
Sat, 03/12/2011 - 07:46
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http://m.oananews.org//node/167611
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Emergency EU summit highlights division over Libyan crisis
PARIS, March 12 (Itar-Tass) -- The European Union's emergency summit
on Libya has revealed deep disagreements among the participants, a number of French observers have said. The two main aims Paris had sought - the EU' s recognition of the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the sole legitimate partner and the blockade of air space over Libya - were not achieved.
"No distinct and unequivocal decision was taken," reliable sources
told Itar-Tass. France has become the first Western country to officially recognize the TNC. The Elysee Palace announced this decision on Thursday, on the eve of an emergency EU summit in Brussels. It is expected that in the near future a temporary diplomatic mission will open in Benghazi, a stronghold of the protest movement. However, as it has turned out, not all of Paris's partners are prepared to follow suit.
While acknowledging that Colonel Qaddafi was completely discredited in the eyes of the Europeans, and that henceforth the TNC is de facto a "political interlocutor" of the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel nevertheless said: "This does not mean that it is the only interlocutor."
The leaks to the press on the eve of the summit France was considering the possibility of pinpoint strikes against targets in Libya proved not to the liking of the rest of the EU members. As he summed up the results of the meeting in Brussels, President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday made it clear that a unified position on the issue of blockading Libyan air space was also not achieved.
"The question is not removed from the agenda," he said. "But for any military action there must be the legal basis - a UN mandate."
Merkel was more articulate. "Given the current situation, no talk about military action is possible," she said. However, she acknowledged that the EU countries were ready to provide assistance in order to avoid new victims of the conflict in Libya.
The president of the European Union Herman Van Rompuy made a statement in the same vein.
"If we see that absolutely unjust use of force continues against the people of Libya, we shall consider all possible measures," he continued, refusing, however, to specify what measures united Europe was ready to take. In addition to the sanctions imposed by UN Security Council in late February the EU countries previously agreed steps to freeze the assets Gaddafi and his entourage.
One of the outcomes of Friday's discussions was the decision to
convene "in the coming weeks" a new summit - this time a tripartite one - involving the European Union, the African Union and the Arab League. Some observers do not rule out that the discussion of Libya in a larger format will merely exacerbate disagreement.
on Libya has revealed deep disagreements among the participants, a number of French observers have said. The two main aims Paris had sought - the EU' s recognition of the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the sole legitimate partner and the blockade of air space over Libya - were not achieved.
"No distinct and unequivocal decision was taken," reliable sources
told Itar-Tass. France has become the first Western country to officially recognize the TNC. The Elysee Palace announced this decision on Thursday, on the eve of an emergency EU summit in Brussels. It is expected that in the near future a temporary diplomatic mission will open in Benghazi, a stronghold of the protest movement. However, as it has turned out, not all of Paris's partners are prepared to follow suit.
While acknowledging that Colonel Qaddafi was completely discredited in the eyes of the Europeans, and that henceforth the TNC is de facto a "political interlocutor" of the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel nevertheless said: "This does not mean that it is the only interlocutor."
The leaks to the press on the eve of the summit France was considering the possibility of pinpoint strikes against targets in Libya proved not to the liking of the rest of the EU members. As he summed up the results of the meeting in Brussels, President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday made it clear that a unified position on the issue of blockading Libyan air space was also not achieved.
"The question is not removed from the agenda," he said. "But for any military action there must be the legal basis - a UN mandate."
Merkel was more articulate. "Given the current situation, no talk about military action is possible," she said. However, she acknowledged that the EU countries were ready to provide assistance in order to avoid new victims of the conflict in Libya.
The president of the European Union Herman Van Rompuy made a statement in the same vein.
"If we see that absolutely unjust use of force continues against the people of Libya, we shall consider all possible measures," he continued, refusing, however, to specify what measures united Europe was ready to take. In addition to the sanctions imposed by UN Security Council in late February the EU countries previously agreed steps to freeze the assets Gaddafi and his entourage.
One of the outcomes of Friday's discussions was the decision to
convene "in the coming weeks" a new summit - this time a tripartite one - involving the European Union, the African Union and the Arab League. Some observers do not rule out that the discussion of Libya in a larger format will merely exacerbate disagreement.
