LUXEMBOURG, Oct 11: The European Union on Monday ended a long-standing ban on economic links and arms sales to Libya.

The union's foreign ministers said the decision was in response to Libya's decision to abandon its nuclear weapons programme and the need to work with Tripoli to combat illegal immigration from Africa.

At the same time, however, the 25-nation bloc tightened the screws on the military rulers in Myanmar and rejected French calls for lifting a weapons embargo on China.

The EU decision to restore economic and arms links with Libya signals the complete integration of the once-pariah North African nation into mainstream international politics.

Italy spearheaded the lifting of the EU embargo, saying this would allow for stronger cooperation between Europe and Libya on fighting illegal immigration. "Cooperation with Libya on migration is essential and urgent," EU foreign ministers said in a statement issued after a meeting in Luxembourg.

The ban was being lifted following "dramatic changes" that had taken place in Tripoli in recent months, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told reporters. French deputy Foreign Minister Claudie Haignere said the EU decision to lift sanctions followed "a series of significant gestures" by Tripoli.

"We see this as a turning point in our relations," Ms Haignere told reporters. But she warned that the EU would keep a "vigilant eye" on developments in the country. Diplomats said the EU would continue to apply its voluntary code of conduct on weapon sales to Tripoli, adding that the lifting of the embargo would not mean an "explosion" in arms deliveries to the country.

Italy is especially eager that the union should be able to supply Tripoli with border control equipment, including helicopters and night-vision binoculars to fight illegal immigration.

The thaw in EU-Libya relations follows last month's decision by the United States to end its own sanctions against Tripoli, introduced following the 1988 American plane crash over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, which was blamed on two Libyan nationals.

A recent Libyan decision to compensate victims of a 1986 bombing at a Berlin discotheque was "further proof of Libya's readiness to change its policies of the past and of its commitment to responsible government", the EU said.

Ministers did not, however, lift a ban on China, saying they needed more time to overcome their differences on the issue. The US is opposed to any resumption of EU arms sales to China.