Libië en Zwitserland proberen een overeenkomst te bereiken aangaande visa (en)

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miguel Angel Moratinos, during his press conference appearance subsequent to a meeting with his Libyan and Swiss counterparts, Mousa Kousa and Micheline Calmy-Rey.

Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, is hosting talks between Libya and Switzerland with the aim of helping them to reach an agreement to resolve the visa dispute, which is affecting other countries in the EU.

This morning he met with his Libyan and Swiss counterparts, Mousa Kousa and Micheline Calmy-Rey, at the Palacio de Viana in Madrid.

"We have made progress and the will is there to find a solution, but the situation is difficult at the moment", said Moratinos after travelling to La Granja (Segovia) to take part in an informal meeting of ministers of development.

The talks will continue this afternoon and tonight in Madrid. The Swiss minister cannot be present due to agenda difficulties, but a representative from the ministry will take part.

Moratinos is in contact with the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton i, and the European Commission, in efforts to coordinate Europe's position.

Libya announced this week that it has stopped granting visas to countries within the Schengen Area, which includes most of the countries in the EU, as well as Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.

This decision on the part of the Libyan Government affects short-stay visas (less than 90 days). It is also barring European citizens with this kind of travel permit from entering the country.

Switzerland introduced a policy to restrict Libyan visas last autumn after police from the North African country detained two Swiss businessmen. This incident came shortly after the Swiss authorities had briefly detained one of the sons of Muammar al-Gaddafi.