Zimbabwe and the European Union (EU) embarked on the onerous task of mending ties with the two sides on Thursday holding their first official talks in seven years when they met in the Belgian capital, Brussels, The Herald reported.

Relations between Zimbabwe and the EU have for nearly a decade been defined by the sanctions regime that the latter imposed in February 2002.

The meeting lays the foundation for a renewed relationship between the European Union and Zimbabwe, EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said after meeting Zimbabwe Prime Minister Tsvangirai.

"Your new government offers a unique political opportunity to see Zimbabwe re-engage with the international donor community. But in order to kick-start this re-engagement, we need clear progress on certain sticking points," Michel was quoted as saying.

However, observers questioned if the EU was prepared to lift sanctions, describing them as "the major stumbling block to full re-engagement and normalisation of ties".

Zanu-PF ministers who are part of the delegation in Brussels only received visas to attend the talks at the last minute after Western embassies tried to deny them the right of passage and entry.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and his Justice colleague Patrick Chinamasa nearly did not attend the talks because the Europeans insisted that they were subject to travel bans that accompany the economic sanctions.

On the other hand, ministers from the MDC formations who are part of the delegation, as well as their permanent secretaries, had no problems in getting visas.

This prompted the government of Zimbabwe to consider aborting the dialogue before it had even started.

The situation was only saved when President Mugabe tasked Acting Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara to engage the European embassies in Harare over the matter.

The EU, through its administrative arm the Commission, usually donates around 90 million euros annually to Zimbabwean NGOs.

Source: Xinhua