The European Union (EU) has started negotiations with Libya on closer cooperation in political, economic, trade and other areas, a top EU diplomat announced Thursday.
"The opening today of the negotiations of the framework agreement marked a very important moment in the EU-Libya relations," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told a press conference.
Ferrero-Waldner just ended talks with Abdulati Elobeidi, Libya's secretary for European affairs, and Mohamed Tahar Siala, deputy secretary of the General People Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation.
The commissioner described the future agreement, which covers trade, energy, illegal migration, environment and visa facilitation, as "important for the EU" and for Libya, "the last south-Mediterranean country with which the EU has no contractual relations and we are keen to establish a clear, long-lasting legal framework."
Bilateral ties had been sour for years because the European bloc accused the Libyan government of backing terrorism.
The EU decided to improve relations with Libya in July, soon after the African country released a group of Bulgarian nurses it had accused of infecting Libyan children with HIV virus.
Ferrero-Waldner said the EU's executive body was given a "wide mandate" to start negotiations with Libya, a member of the four-month-old Mediterranean Union.
Libya is an important energy supplier for the EU because 70 percent of its oil is exported to Europe.
Source:Xinhua
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