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Libya and EU seek improved ties Sarkozy to boost EU-Libya links
(19 minutes later)
Libya and the EU have said their ties will improve following the release of six Bulgarian medical workers. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is travelling to Tripoli to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a day after the release of six foreign medics.
The six had been imprisoned for deliberately infecting children with HIV and are now celebrating their freedom in Bulgaria. The meeting is being seen as a sign of the normalisation of ties between Libya and the EU following the release.
They were released on Tuesday following years of negotiation. The foreign workers were held years for infecting children with HIV.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli, where he is expected to sign agreements on bilateral co-operation. The five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian-born doctor, who served eight years of their life sentences, always maintained they were innocent.
The five nurses and a Palestinian-born doctor, who served eight years of the life sentences they received, had always maintained they were innocent.
All six were pardoned on their arrival in Sofia by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.All six were pardoned on their arrival in Sofia by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.
'New page' Immigration support
Europe and the United States had made it clear to Libya that resolving their situation was the key to improving ties. Europe and the US had made it clear to Libya that resolving their situation was the key to improving ties.
There are reports that Mr Sarkozy could sign agreements on security, immigration, energy and scientific research.
HAVE YOUR SAY Gaddafi has used these poor innocent medics as bargaining chips to get something out of the EU... And he succeeded. Marc Saurel, Montreal, Canada Have your say: Libya medics
Mr Sarkozy wants to further Libyan help in the fight against terrorism, says the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby in Paris.Mr Sarkozy wants to further Libyan help in the fight against terrorism, says the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby in Paris.
HAVE YOUR SAY Gaddafi has used these poor innocent medics as bargaining chips to get something out of the EU... And he succeeded. Marc Saurel, Montreal, Canada Have your say: Libya medics Profiles: The medics
And he wants more support in to stem the flow of illegal immigrants crossing into southern Europe from North Africa.And he wants more support in to stem the flow of illegal immigrants crossing into southern Europe from North Africa.
The six medics were flown from Tripoli to Sofia early on Tuesday at the end of a three-day trip to Libya by Mr Sarkozy's wife Cecilia and the EU's External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux.
Ms Ferrero-Waldner said it marked "a new page in the history of relations between the EU and Libya". The Libyan Foreign Minister, Abdullah Shalqam, said that Mr Sarkozy's visit would give them a chance to discuss the French president's proposal for a Mediterranean union.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the EU could now begin to normalise trade and political ties with Libya. Mr Sarkozy had made securing the medics' freedom a foreign policy priority since taking office in May.
Compensation confusion His wife, Cecilia Sarkozy, played a last-minute role in securing that release, which followed an agreement on normalising relations with the EU.
Mr Sarkozy and the EU denied making any financial payment to secure the medics' release. The US-based rights' group Human Rights Watch welcomed their release, but warned that torture and other rights abuses in Libya remained a concern.
However, the families of the 438 infected children reportedly agreed last week to a compensation deal worth $1m (£500,000) per child, channelled through the Gaddafi Foundation, a charity run by Seif al-Islam, the Libyan leader's son. "The absence of a free press, the mistreatment of detainees and the need for legal reform require urgent international attention," the group said in a statement.
Libya's foreign minister said both the EU and France had contributed to the fund, AFP reported.
The medics were convicted of deliberately injecting the 438 children with HIV-tainted blood. Fifty-six of the children have since died.
The six, who had been in prison since 1999, say they were tortured to confess.
Foreign experts say the infections started before the medics arrived at the hospital, and are more likely to have been a result of poor hygiene.