The European Union said yesterday it deplored a decision by Libya to stop issuing entry visas to the 25 European nations in the Schengen visa-free zone.
“We deplore this measure because measures to interrupt visa delivery is a unilateral, disproportionate measure,” a European Commission spokesman told a regular briefing.
“At the same time, we really regret that even citizens from EU Schengen member countries who were in possession of a valid visa were refused entry and sent back,” the spokesman said.
He declined to comment on Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini’s accusation that Switzerland had misused the Schengen agreement and taken its members “hostage” by slapping a ban on Libyan officials that prompted the retaliation by Tripoli.
However, the Commission spokesperson said members of the Schengen visa group would meet on Thursday to decide a response to the Libyan move.
Officials said on Monday that Libya had stopped issuing entry visas to the 25 European nations covered by Schengen some of which are not in the European Union, such as Switzerland in response to a Swiss entry ban on 188 Libyan citizens, including Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his family.
Libya has for months been locked in a row with Switzerland over the brief 2008 arrest of one of Gaddafi’s sons in Geneva, and the subsequent prosecution in Libya of two Swiss citizens.
In an interview published in La Stampa newspaper, Frattini said Italy, whose Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has forged closer ties with Gaddafi, had asked Tripoli to reconsider its decision.
He said Schengen was supposed to be used to protect its member states from criminals and terrorists, not to exert pressure in a bilateral issue.
The visa suspension left Europeans stranded at the airport in Libya and forced many to return home. The Libyan government gave no official confirmation or explanation of the measure.
Oil exporter Libya has been attracting growing foreign investment since it emerged from decades of international isolation and the visa move could harm its business reputation, though one analyst said the suspension would be short-lived.
Pic: President Muammar Gaddafi of Libya
Source: www.af.reuters.com
