The European Union agreed today to lift an arms embargo on Libya after pressure from Italy, which said the North African country needed better equipment to tackle illegal migrants.
Senior envoys to the 25-nation bloc agreed the move at a meeting in Brussels, diplomatic sources said.
The decision, the latest step in Libya's improving relations with the West, will now have to be formally ratified by EU ministers.
Italy, whose long coastline makes it one of the top targets for migrants trying to reach Europe by boat, said the move would help Libya by giving it better access to equipment such as binoculars and boats to help it patrol its coast.
"Foreign Minister (Franco) Frattini has expressed his great satisfaction with the agreement reached today in Brussels to completely lift the European Union embargo imposed on Libya," Italy's Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued in Rome.
"The EU's decision caps off ongoing efforts by Italy to give Libya the tools needed to assure an efficient patrolling of its land and marine borders and adequately confront the illegal immigration phenomenon and crime," it said. Rome had said it might lift the trade embargo on Libya unilaterally if the EU did not take a decision this week.