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BRUSSELS: The European Union said Friday it will continue to consider military action in Libya, but only if it is first approved by the United Nations and the Arab League.
The decision came at the end of an emergency meeting on Libya attended by all 27 EU heads of government. Russia and China, members of the UN Security Council, have both indicated reluctance to approve military action in Libya such as a no-fly zone.
Delegates at Friday's summit also supported Libya's opposition council politically, but stopped short of joining France in giving it diplomatic recognition.
Some EU leaders were miffed that France had taken that action one day before the summit, which was meant to decide on a common strategy.
During Friday's talks, France and Britain pushed to maintain the military option because of continued fighting in Libya and the threat of more violence by the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who has used European-made weapons to attack his own people.
To coordinate action with the regional forces, the EU will meet in a summit ''soon'' with the Arab League and the African Union, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
With their backing, and that of the UN Security Council, the EU leaders said they want to go as far as needed to remove Gadhafi from power.
''Our objective is the safety of the people, and the safety of the people has to be ensured by all necessary means,'' said EU President Herman van Rompuy.
Many EU nations wanted to take a more cautious route and ''there was an intense debate'' at the emergency summit before all agreed to keep the military action option open, even with an array of provisos attached.
But all 27 leaders called for Gadhafi to go and promised to do their utmost to lock him out of the diplomatic arena while piling on more sanctions if he stays.
