EUROPEAN COMMISSION chief José Manuel Barroso said Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy should stand down immediately and described the wave of unrest in the Arab world as a “rendezvous with history”.
Addressing reporters in Brussels, Mr Barroso said Col Gadafy’s crackdown against his opponents was “completely unacceptable” and proved he was part of the problem and not its solution.
“It is time for him to go and give the country back to the people of Libya, allowing democratic forces to chart out a future course. The situation we are seeing in Libya is simply outrageous. We cannot accept this.”
Amid increasing anxiety about the unpredictable situation in the country and fear of civil war, EU leaders gather for an emergency summit next week to take stock of the turmoil.
With a succession of national leaders to the fore on many occasions in diplomatic pressure on Libya, the European response has prompted considerable criticism in official and diplomatic circles that the EU was not “speaking with one voice” as envisaged under Lisbon Treaty reforms.
Although the treaty gives pre-eminence in foreign policy to chief official Catherine Ashton and European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, it was Mr Barroso who stepped forward yesterday to urge Col Gadafy’s resignation.
He pledged that the commission will intensify its effort to address the humanitarian situation at the country’s land borders with Tunisia and Egypt and said the EU’s executive branch had as much as €4 billion available for “neighbourhood assistance”.
Recent events brought tremendous hopes for the future of the peoples in the Arab world, he said. Europe would rather be accused of holding illusions of democracy than be guilty of cynicism or of missing such a liaison with history.
“I believe Arabs are ‘fit’ for democracy, and we are on their side. We all know the risks in these transition processes very well,” he said. “I believe they have embarked on a bold, transformational journey towards freedom, democracy and a better life.
“From Brussels, I want to specifically say this to the young Arabs that are now fighting for freedom and democracy: we are on your side. We remember our own experiences in Europe, when we were fighting for democracy – in southern Europe, in central and eastern Europe, where some were saying that the fight for democracy will not be successful.”
