Luxembourg, 12/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - Alongside discussing the “operations concept” for possible EU humanitarian intervention in Libya, accompanied by a military mission as part of ESDP (see separate article), the EU27 foreign ministers decided in Luxembourg on 12 April 2011 to extend the visa ban and asset freezing decreed against the Gaddafi regime and held informal talks with a representative of the National Transition Council (of Libya) about the prospects for a peaceful solution to the conflict. Upon a request from France, Italy and Denmark (which halve already recognised the NTC as a legitimate representative group) and despite strong resistance from other countries (like Sweden), the ministers held informal talks over lunch with Mahmoud Jibril, responsible for foreign affairs at the NTC, who told the EU27 that the rebels were demanding the departure of Muammar Gaddafi and his sons as a precondition for any peaceful solution to the conflict. This, he explained, is why the NTC rejected the ceasefire brokered on Monday 11 April by the African Union, which did not explicitly mention the colonel's departure.
NATO urged to step up the air raids. The United Kingdom and France, the main powers behind the military intervention in Libya before NATO took over on 31 March 2011, called on Tuesday for the other NATO countries involved in the attacks to step up their efforts. French foreign minister Alain Juppe said that NATO had to play a full role, but was not yet fully up to the task. He said that NATO had wanted to take over military command of operations, which France had agreed to, but it now had to play a full role and prevent Gaddafi from using heavy arms to bomb civilians. Speaking in Paris, French Defence Minister Gérard Longuet said that without new air strikes on Gaddafi's heavy weaponry, there was no chance of releasing the pressure on cities under siege like Misrata and Zenten. UK Foreign Minister William Hague also called on NATO to maintain and intensify its military operations in Libya to protect the local population. Spain and Italy, however, have expressed reservations about any intensification of air strikes. Spanish European Affairs Minister Diego Lopez Garrido said in Luxembourg that it was not needed and NATO's action was going well and did not need to be changed. He said NATO was doing good work and the no-fly zone was a success. Italy's foreign minister Franco Frattini said he was “perplexed” at the call for intensified air strikes. Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, said that Germany would not be taking part in the war on Libya but was prepared to help limit the consequences of the war on the population. Germany seems to be prepared to take part in any humanitarian mission to Misrata, should it go ahead. (H.B./trans.fl)