EU extends sanctions on Libyan financial institutions

NATO sec.-gen. says alliance "stands ready to help, time is of the essence"; compares Arab revolutions to fall of Eastern bloc.

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF
Libyan rebel firing at heli (R) 311 (photo credit: Goran Tomasevic / Reuters)
Libyan rebel firing at heli (R) 311
(photo credit: Goran Tomasevic / Reuters)
The European Union formally extended its embargo on Libya to include five financial organizations and one individual on Thursday, with the restrictions taking force from Friday, diplomats said.
None of the EU's 27 member states raised objections to the Libyan Investment Authority, the central bank, three other financial organizations and a former senior finance official being added to the sanctions list, making the additions effective.
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The restrictions will be published in the EU's Official Journal on Friday, which is when they become law.
The Libyan Investment Authority is a sovereign wealth fund with around $70 billion invested across a range of European assets, including banks, the Juventus soccer team, Italian carmaker Fiat FIA.M, defense company Finmeccanica SpA and British-based publisher Pearson.
The sanctions mean that all LIA's holdings in EU-based assets will be frozen, and it will not be allowed to receive dividends or sell any stakes.
At the start of a meeting to discuss Libya, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the military alliance stands ready to help and that time is of the essence.
Speaking to reporters, he said that "we are currently seeing the start of a new era of freedom, which can generate peace, prosperity and progress."
Invoking the fall of the Soviet bloc, Rasmussen added, "Just over 20 years ago, many countries in Central and Eastern Europe faced similar challenges and turmoil." Today, he said, they are now "strong democracies and allies" who are sitting at this very [NATO] table.