Verklaring van Prodi inzake schadevergoeding Libië aan slachtoffers van bomaanslag in Berlijnse discotheek (en)

"I am very happy to hear that the final settlement between the association of the families of the victim of the La Belle discotheque bombing in Berlin in 1986, and the Libyan authorities has been concluded. And later today I will directly contact the Libyan authorities. But now my first consideration and all my sympathy are for the victims who can finally bring this story to an end. And I mourn once more those who died in the blast.

I welcome this further progress in Libyan policy that shows the strength of the new path they have chosen. It is further proof of the consistency and the importance of the Commission's policy towards Libya since 1999, when I first made moves to open dialogue with this country of North Africa. . I appreciate this new step towards the full reintegration of Libya into the international community. And I remind all concerned that the door of the Barcelona process is still open, with the possibility of Libya joining when its government considers the moment to be right.

I am also following attentively bilateral efforts on the part of Libya and the most affected European governments to find a joint approach against illegal migration from North Africa to the coasts of the Southern Europe; a crime that is causing too many victims in our seas. The Commission has no power in this matter but every measure taken against this new form of slavery is welcome and, where the Commission does have a role to play, it is ready to play it to the full."