EU leaders say Qaddafi must go No decision on no-fly zone at emergency EU summit.

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The EU’s national leaders have unanimously called on Muammar Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, to step down but did not discuss possible military steps such as the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya, where Qaddafi’s troops have pushed back insurgents in days of heavy fighting.

Speaking after an emergency summit of EU leaders in Brussels today (11 March), José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, said: “We have a regime that is turning against its own people. The problem has a name: it is Qaddafi and he must go.”



David Cameron, the UK’s prime minister, said: “Today European leaders were united, categorical and crystal clear: Qaddafi must go.”

Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, said that EU leaders had pledged to “examine all options” to ensure the safety of the Libyan people. He said that the leaders were “very concerned” by reports of attacks in Libya. Van Rompuy said that the EU member states would consider all options to protect the Libyan people provided there is a “demonstrable need, a clear legal basis and support from the region”.

Compromise statement

The summit statement was a compromise between diverging positions, with the leaders of France and the UK calling for military action if Qaddafi attacked civilians.

Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, said that the EU had to consider “possible operations which would be strictly defensive, targeting a few military objectives in the event of defenseless civilians being massacred by a massive military action taken against them”. Sarkozy said that such operations should only be carried out if the United Nations Security Council agrees on a mandate, if it they are backed by the Arab League and if they are endorsed by Libyan rebel fighters.

Cameron said that he did not feel frustrated that the EU did not go as far as to call for a no-fly zone over Libya. He said: “I don’t feel frustrated. Europe is an alliance of 27. Europe today has said some very significant things. We are united: Qaddafi must go. We are united that this regime is illegitimate.”

Reluctance

Other countries, including Germany, are more reluctant to consider military action. Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, said that she had never made a secret of her scepticism about military action and that all its implications required careful consideration. “Further options will be considered when the legal bases exist,” she said. “We cannot decide anything at present.”

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Merkel said that a “clear resolution from the United Nations” and support from regional organisations such as the Arab League and the African Union were preconditions for further debate about possible military action.

Support for rebels

Van Rompuy said that the EU was proposing a joint summit with the Arab League and the African Union to discuss the situation in Libya. He said that the EU “welcomes and encourages” the Benghazi-based National Transition Council, a group of senior Libyan officials who have turned against the former Gaddafi regime.

France broke ranks with its EU partners yesterday by recognising the Council as the country’s legitimate government. “There is no one else to talk to,” Sarkozy said. He said that while some of the Council’s members were former ministers under Qaddafi, the EU had no choice but to open channels of communication with them. Van Rompuy confirmed that he had met representatives of the Council this morning.

Merkel stressed that the Council was an “interlocutor” but not the “sole interlocutor”. Van Rompuy said: “We have to have an interlocutor. The Council is a reliable interlocutor in our view.”

Further sanctions

The leaders also agreed in principle on further sanctions against Libya’s regime.

Van Rompuy said that leaders had also agreed to provide all technical assistance needed to Frontex, the EU’s border control agency, for it to deal with any surges in migration.

Barroso said that there was a need for “solidarity and burden-sharing” in dealing with migration because some EU countries would be more affected than others. Merkel, by contrast, emphasised the “existing instruments” and said that the future of young people in the region was in their home countries.

Van Rompuy said that the EU was “pleased” with the pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East and that the EU would help the countries of the region with the transition to democracy. He stressed the challenges for the transition process in the countries of the region. “It is not by toppling a dictator that you have a democracy,” he said.

Van Rompuy said that today’s summit was only the fourth time EU leaders had held an emergency meeting. The others were because of the war in Georgia in 2008, the Iraq war in 2003 and the attacks of 11 September 2001. “We are convinced the events on our southern border are just as momentous,” he said.

