By Elinor Blair - 7th October 2004
Relations between the EU and Burma are set to suffer when ‘further restrictive measures’ are placed on the Asian nation.
Speaking ahead of a Monday meeting of Europe's foreign ministers, a spokesman for the Dutch EU presidency said that the situation in the country "with regard to democracy and human rights has not improved in our view".
He said that the EU needed to take "smart sanctions" and that these would be "designed to hit the military [regime] in power," and not the general Burmese population.
Measures will involve lengthening the list of people subject to visa bans and to prohibiting EU companies from financing loans and equities to named Burmese state-owned companies.
A decision to lift the arms embargo against Libya will also be taken by ministers at the council meeting.
This will be followed by a "more general debate about relations" with the country.
The EU presidency spokesman confirmed that the plight of the six Bulgarians and one Palestinian medical worker accused of infecting thousands of Libyan children with AIDs through blood transfusions would be on the agenda.
Also appearing on the packed agenda will be discussion on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, relations with Indonesia, the crisis in Sudan and the upcoming elections in Ukraine.
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