Gaddafi insists on EU billions to stop migration

Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi this morning insisted Europe should dish out some €5 billion a year to avoid being overcome by "black African migrants".

“We should stop this illegal immigration. If we don’t Europe will become black, it will be overcome by people with different religions, it will change,” he said, using the same language he had used in a controversial speech he gave in Rome in August.

Speaking at the opening of the third EU Africa summit in Tripoli, he went a step further this morning, warning that Libya will no longer be a "guard" for Europe.

Only Italy had understood the situation, he said, pointing out that because it had cooperated with Libya, it managed to “delay” illegal immigration.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the Libyan Ambassador to Malta, Saadun Suayeh described Mr Gaddafi’s request in August as symbolic after the EU shot down the prospect of paying anything of the sort for a deal on Immigration.

However, the 68-year-old North African leader, known for his maverick style, insisted yesterday on the payment of €5billion per year.

He also alluded to other issues on the Libyan agenda in respect to Europe and mentioned specifically a refusal by Sweden to sell Libya surveillance planes. “What sort of cooperation is this?”.

Today’s session of the summit was meant to deal with climate change. However, Mr Gaddafi’s comments are sure to spark a debate on immigration.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi joined the two-day meeting this morning and is expected to make a speech later this afternoon.

The summit, which is meant to seal a new partnership between the two continents, has been boycotted at the last minute by Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes allegedly committed in Darfur.

There are also notable absences from the European side – British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have stayed away.

As well as Africa's leading aid donor, the EU remains the top trading partner of this developing continent, which is registering among the highest rates of growth the world over. However, Europe risks being sidelined by emerging players like Brazil and India which have joined China in pursuing business with the resource-rich continent.

Mr Gaddafi played on this too in his speech, pointing out that Africa had options besides Europe, such as China, Latin America and Russia.