The European Union joined calls on Monday for Robert Mugabe to step down as president of Zimbabwe, a country with a devastated economy battling to contain a deadly cholera outbreak.
"I think the moment has arrived to put all the pressure for Mugabe to step down," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters ahead of a meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels.
Critics blame the economic crisis, official inflation is more than 230 million percent, on Mugabe's policies, such as seizing white-owned farms to give to black Zimbabweans. The 84-year-old leader, in power since independence from Britain in 1980 blames sanctions imposed by Western countries.
Solana said the 27-nation bloc could decide at the meeting to add names to a list of over 160 Zimbabwean officials — including Mugabe — banned from travelling in Europe, but argued against any further sanctions on a country whose once-thriving economy now barely functions and where there are food shortages.
"Everything that can be done has been done … The important thing is the political pressure now," Solana said.
The United States said on Friday that Mugabe's departure from office was long overdue and that a food crisis and cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe meant it was now vital for the international community to act.
Britain has told Zimbabwe's neighbours they could expect firm international support for any effort to bring a "real change" to Zimbabwe.
EU foreign ministers were set to add 11 names to the bloc's Zimbabwe black list later in the day, and delete one other official from the list, diplomats said.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said international intervention was needed as Zimbabwe faced a health emergency.
"Cholera is killing," he said. "We need international intervention for this matter, not a military one, but a strong intervention to stop this cholera epidemic, which could allow for other things," he said without elaborating.
A draft statement prepared for Monday's EU foreign ministers' meeting says the EU is deeply concerned by the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe and urges full access to humanitarian aid for all of the country's population.
On-off power-sharing talks between Mugabe's ZANU-PF and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC have made little progress since they reached a deal in September seen as the best hope of pulling Zimbabwe back from economic collapse.
