Brussels, 22/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - Colonel Ghaddafi will be in Brussels on 26 and 27 April for a double official visit. He will be at the European Commission on Tuesday and will meet Belgian authorities the day before, it is confirmed by Libya's Ambassador with the European Institutions, Hamed El Houdari. The Libyan Head of State will meet Commission President Romano Prodi with whom he will once more explore the chances of engaging in cooperation that is both bilateral and within the EuroMed framework.
The Commission and Tripoli have for almost one year now undertaken to define the possible areas of cooperation and, among the themes suggested by Brussels, one mainly cites fisheries and consultation in the fight against illegal migratory flows. Energy-related themes should also be tackled with this major hydrocarbons exporter. Libya, although already eligible for EEC and then EU Mediterranean policy, remains the only country in the region with which there is no agreement. Links had become more tenuous when Colonel Ghaddafi's regime was ostracised by the international community. The rehabilitation process begun after the arrangements that it found with Washington, London and Paris marked a quickening of the process for gradual improvement in relations between this country and the EU. To date, Libya only has the status of a country "invited" to the EuroMed process sessions. The EU has already informed it of its right to become a full member as soon as it has confirmed its intention to sign up to the principles underlying the EuroMed dialogue and has accepted the EuroMed acquis. Colonel Ghaddafi's visit to Brussels, the result of active commitment on the part of President Prodi since his arrival at the head of the Commission, should seal this rapprochement and normalise relations with Tripoli. Regarding the Belgian part of the visit, Mr Ghaddafi will meet Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and Foreign Minister Louis Michel.