Brussels, 31/08/2011 (Agence Europe) - With the conflict in Libya most probably approaching its final phase, the EU should seize the initiative and send observers to take part in the rebuilding of the country, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé has said in an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Reuters reports. Although the fighting in not yet over, the situation around Gaddafi's native city of Sirte being where greatest uncertainty remains, European aid projects for Libya are growing in number. The European Commission said on Wednesday 24 August that it was to allocate further funding (see EUROPE 10437). NATO announced on Tuesday 30 August that the port in the capital, Tripoli, was open for service and that merchant and humanitarian aid vessels could use it. NATO operations are still ongoing. So long as any threat to the civilian population remains, NATO will continue its air strikes, the organisation's spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Tuesday 30 August. Barely a few days after fighting ceased there, Tripoli has been fully secured. The National Transitional Council (NTC) has transferred its headquarters to the capital and the French Ministry of Defence has just announced the re-opening of the French Embassy in the city. Foreign Minister Juppé said too that France, which will host an international conference on the rebuilding of Libya on Thursday 1st September, has also called for Germany to play an active role. “We have done our bit. It is now up to others to do likewise”, Juppé stated. (J.K./transl.rt)