Brussels
The European Union this week dropped its trade sanctions against Libya, saying the once-rogue country had destroyed its weapons of mass destruction. It also downgraded the arms embargo imposed on Libya in 1986 and will now allow some weapons purchases. The move was partly a result of pressure from Italy, which threatened to lift the trade embargo unilaterally if the E.U. didn’t go along. Libya is Italy’s main supplier of oil. Italy also wants to provide Tripoli with equipment to patrol the Libyan coastline to stem the flow of illegal immigrants from Africa, hundreds of whom reach Italy by sea every month.
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