http://www.smh.com.au/world/libya-bars-europeans-over-battle-with-swiss-20100216-o8z3.html
Libya bars Europeans over battle with Swiss IAN TRAYNOR February 17, 2010 LIBYA'S leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has banned most Europeans from travelling to the country in a sudden escalation of a dispute with Switzerland that has been running for almost two years. The snap decision suspends visits from the 25 countries in Europe that share the visa-free Schengen system. The decision caught European Union officials by surprise. On Monday they were scrambling for more information and seeking to clarify the exact details of the travel ban, including whether diplomats would be expelled and whether business people and other Europeans resident in Libya would have their visas withdrawn and need to leave. The Libyan authorities summoned EU ambassadors in Tripoli on Monday to inform them of the move and the European Commission announced that European travellers arriving in Libya with valid visas were being refused entry. The European Commission did not announce any tit-for-tat moves, perhaps reflecting the difficulty of making quick decisions in a union of 27 countries whose governments have differing views on the Gaddafi regime. ''The issue will be discussed before the end of the week,'' a statement said. The Schengen agreement applies in 23 of the EU's 27 countries as well as in Switzerland and Norway, which are not EU members. Britons, outside the passport-free zone, are still able to travel to Libya. A newspaper in Tripoli this week warned of ''severe measures'' of retaliation after it said that the Swiss government had decided to blacklist more than 180 Libyan leaders, including the Gaddafi family, from entry. The Swiss Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it had tightened its visa requirements for Libyan citizens. The row goes back to 2008 when Colonel Gaddafi's son, Hannibal, was arrested with his wife in a luxury Geneva hotel and accused of beating up their domestic servants. He was released and the charges were dropped. But the Libyans arrested two Swiss businessmen, who have been held in the country since. The Tripoli newspaper said the Libyans had told the Swiss to bin the blacklist or risk the European travel ban. The blacklist is said to include the Gaddafi family, Libyan businessmen and secret service personnel and senior officials in the legislative Libyan People's Congress. Guardian News & Media [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
