BRUSSELS, April 23: Libyan leader Colonel Moamer Qadhafi will visit the European Union's headquarters next Tuesday on his first trip to Europe in 15 years, the European Commission said on Friday.

Talks between Qadhafi and European Commission President Romano Prodi will prepare the ground for a "full normalisation of relations between Libya and the EU," a Commission spokesman said.

The visit follows the "remarkable progress achieved during the past few months towards the integration of Libya within the international community, including on issues of weapons of mass destruction," the Commission said.

Officials said they were also encouraged by Libya's "clear orientation towards a more open economy" as well as Tripoli's readiness to join the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue. But normalisation of EU relations with Libya will depend on resolving outstanding issues such as the dispute between Germany and Libya over compensation for victims of a 1986 night club bombing in west Berlin.

Qadhafi's ground-breaking visit to Brussels follows high-level Libyan contacts with Britain and the United States following Tripoli's decision last December to come clean on its programme of weapons of mass destruction. - dpa