Despite historical tensions Col Gaddafi has forged friendlier relations with Italy
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi says the EU should pay Libya at least 5bn euros (£4bn; $6.3bn) a year to stop illegal African immigration and avoid a "black Europe".

Speaking on a visit to Italy, Col Gaddafi said Europe "could turn into Africa" as "there are millions of Africans who want to come in".

Italy has drawn criticism for handing over to Libya migrants it intercepts at sea, without screening them first.

Far fewer now reach Italy from Libya.


We don't know... what will be the reaction of the white and Christian Europeans faced with this influx of starving and ignorant Africans”

Col Muammar Gaddafi

European Commission figures show that in 2009 the number of people caught trying to enter Italy illegally fell to 7,300, from 32,052 in 2008. The data was collected under the EU's Eurodac fingerprinting system.

Col Gaddafi has forged close ties with Italy since a friendship treaty was signed two years ago. It sought to draw a line under historic bitterness between Libya and Italy, its former colonial master.

"Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European, and even black, as there are millions who want to come in," said Col Gaddafi, quoted by the AFP news agency.

He was speaking at a ceremony in Rome late on Monday, standing next to Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

"We don't know what will happen, what will be the reaction of the white and Christian Europeans faced with this influx of starving and ignorant Africans," Col Gaddafi said.

"We don't know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions."

Audience of women
Col Gaddafi has long seen himself as a champion of African interests on the international stage and has hosted many summits with African leaders.

Mr Berlusconi made no immediate comment on Col Gaddafi's demand.

Italy has been carrying out joint naval patrols with Libya for the past year, intercepting illegal migrants at sea.

The BBC's David Willey says Col Gaddafi's visit to Rome was overshadowed by another controversial speech he made - to two groups of several hundred young Italian women, hired at a fee of 70 or 80 euros each from a local modelling agency.

He told them that Islam should become the religion of Europe and gave them free copies of the Koran, after he had lectured them for an hour on the freedoms enjoyed by women in Libya.

[B]How Libya became a dead end for migrants[/B]


By Rana Jawad
BBC News, Tripoli

[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48097000/jpg/_48097510_boat466afp.jpg[/IMG]

Libya, once the gateway for African immigrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, is increasingly putting up its shutters.

The latest sign of this is the government's decision to close the offices of the UN High Commission for Refugees in Tripoli, saying it was illegal, and thus denying migrants and asylum seekers a lifeline if they run into trouble in their efforts to make the treacherous coastal journey to Europe.

As it stands, it is a dead end - not down to zero but down by 95% of landings in Italy and Malta”

IOM's Lawrence Hart
Although the closure sparked protests from rights groups, the European Union's response was more muted, saying it was regrettable but understandable.

"There's a certain fear in the country that with the presence of the UNHCR, more refugees are being attracted to Libya," Adrianus Koetsenruijter, the EU ambassador accredited to Libya, told the BBC on a recent visit to Tripoli.

"And [this is] thereby causing a bigger problem inside the country," he said, adding he hoped the refugee agency would be able to operate there again.

Just days after the closure, the EU signed a $60m (£40.5m) financial and technical co-operation pact with Libya, as a prelude to a wider deal expected to be sealed by the end of the year.

Once unthinkable

This shows the current thinking in European capitals: that Col Muammar Gaddafi's Libya - once a pariah state accused of promoting terrorism to threaten Western interests - is now a key ally in efforts to tackle illegal immigration from Africa.


Human-trafficking syndicates have been targeted
It is also a vital source of oil and gas resources with a plethora of investment opportunities in this "virgin" market.

And Libya, with trade links and Western know-how as an incentive to open up its economy to foreign investors after decades of isolation, has taken far-reaching measures to help European governments achieve their objective.

It is now fighting illegal immigration on land and at sea.

This has led to a crackdown on human-trafficking syndicates, the detention and deportation of illegal migrants, and joint sea patrols with the former colonial power, Italy - something that was once unthinkable as Libya promoted a pan-African vision free of Western influence.

Expressing his satisfaction with Libya's actions, Mr Koetsenruijter said illegal immigrant landings on Italian and Maltese shores are "almost zero now".

The recent financial deal signed with the EU will partly continue to finance tighter border controls.

The head of the International Organization for Migration in Libya, Lawrence Hart, believes that Libya is becoming a dead end for migrants hoping to reach Europe.

"As it stands, it is a dead end - not down to zero but down by 95% of landings in Italy and Malta," he says.

"This is also thanks to the country actually exercising the restrictions."

Execution fears
But he believes that the best way to curb illegal immigration is by tackling head-on the dire economic situation in many African countries.


"It's always a precarious situation because it can burst any time.

"Until the root causes are addressed, migration flows are likely to continue for many reasons, not least because there are work opportunities in Libya that remain attractive."

Tripoli's sporadic policy of rounding up foreigners who fail to produce a work permit also means many illegal immigrants are nervous about staying long-term.

The execution of several African nationals accused of premeditated murder - though not a new development - made headlines this month.

It sparked condemnation from human rights organisations who voiced concern that the trials did not meet international standards, while the Ghanaian government appealed to Tripoli to give clemency to its citizens facing the death penalty.

The mood among European diplomats, however, is different: A far cry from the days when they sniped at Libya for failing to curb immigration, or denounced it for its failure to adopt Western-styled democracy and human rights values.

It shows how the political tide is changing in Libya, as it seeks to strengthen relations with European countries that it once accused of undermining African sovereignty and trying to re-colonise the continent.