EU to deepen relations with Libya, starting with trade deal[fr][de] 

Apart from trade, the framework mainly identifies energy and migration as fields of potential further cooperation. Libya is considered an important partner in restricting illegal migration from Africa and plays an important role in the EU's strategy to diversify its energy suppliers, given Libya's status as one of the world's largest oil-producers. 

Currently, the EU and Libya do not maintain diplomatic relations, with dealings taking place only in the context of the Union's neighbourhood policy, which includes 17 countries from North Africa, the Middle East, Russia and former Soviet Republics, and the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. 

External Relations and Neighbourhood Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner called the decision "historic", expressing her hope that it would create "solid and lasting" relations. She praised Libya's role as "an important player in the Mediterranean region and in Africa". 

The Commission will begin negotiations once the member states have given the go-ahead, Ferrero-Waldner said, hoping to finalise talks by the end of the year. 

EU ties with Libya were stalled for years over charges that Tripoli supported terrorism. The Union resumed ties with the country in July 2007 after Libya released six Bulgarian medics from prison who were accused of infecting more than 400 children with HIV-tainted blood. The step was considered crucial by the EU and the US in improving relations with Libya. 

Preceding the deal, which included the signing of a memorandum of understanding on trade and other issues, was a trip by Ferrero-Waldner and then-French first lady Cecilia Sarkozy. 

One day after the release, French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi in Tripoli to sign agreements on issues including security, healthcare and immigration. The two leaders also agreed to work on a nuclear energy project that will turn sea water into clean drinking water (EurActiv 27/07/08). Last December, Gaddafi, for the first time in 34 years, paid a state visit to Sarkozy in Paris. 

Libya began to emerge from its pariah status in 2003 after Gaddafi gave up the country's nuclear weapons programme. Relations with the EU further improved when Libya later accepted responsibility and agreed to pay compensation to the victims' families for the 1988 airliner bombing over the Scottish city of Lockerbie, which left 270 people dead. 

The US restored full diplomatic relations in May 2007 and later removed Libya from a list of state sponsors of terrorism. 

Libya's return to the world stage as a respected country hits a recent peak in January when Libya presided over the UN Security Council. 

Despite improvements, human-rights groups continue to criticise severe restrictions on political freedom and freedom of expression, as well as the country's retention of the death penalty.