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LUXEMBOURG: European foreign ministers gather in Luxembourg today to try and formalise a joint EU response to combat the Ebola virus amid diplomatic warnings the crisis has reached a "tipping point".

The ministers will meet hours after it was announced that a Spanish nurse who was the first person outside Africa to be infected had tested negative for the virus.

Ahead of the talks, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the bloc should consider sending "a civilian EU mission" to west Africa.

"This would offer a platform to (EU) member states" to send medical staff to the region, he said at a health forum in Berlin.

One EU diplomat said Britain - which already has a navy ship bound for Sierra Leone laden with medical staff and supplies -- hoped to "galvanise EU action on Ebola".

"There is a real sense that this is a tipping point and we must get to grips with it now," said the diplomat. "If we can deal with it in the country, we don't have to deal with it at home."

Another diplomat said there are plans for three nations to spearhead global aid to the worst-hit countries: the United States for Liberia, Britain for Sierra Leone and France for Guinea.

A global UN appeal for nearly $1 billion (785 billion euros) has so far fallen short, with only $385.9 million given by governments and agencies, and a further $225.8 million promised.

The political move comes as Madrid announced on yesterday that Teresa Romero, a nurse hospitalised on October 6, has tested negative for the virus.

The 44-year-old will have to undergo a second test before she can officially be declared free of Ebola, the Spanish government said.

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Ebola crisis tops European Union meeting

LUXEMBOURG (AP) European Union nations are working to reach 1 billion euros ($1.27 billion) in aid by the end of the week to fight Ebola in West Africa and are seeking a common approach to the crisis.

EU foreign ministers began a week of talks Monday so their 28 leaders can agree by Friday on better measures to fight Ebola, anything from financial aid to common repatriation procedures, more Ebola treatment facilities and better training for health workers.

"We've got a very short window to get on top of it and prevent the uncontrollable spread of the disease," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said. "We do need this billion-euro fund."

So far, the overall anti-Ebola total for the EU, including EU national contributions, stands now at nearly 500 million euros ($640 million), with Britain contributing 160 million euros ($204 million) and Germany some 100 million euros ($127 million).

The Netherlands also promised to send a frigate to West Africa to help, matching a similar contribution from Britain.

"Money is very important, equipment is very important, staff is very important," said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

The World Health Organization's representative to the EU, Roberto Bertollini, was relieved to hear EU promises of action.

"It's time to act now ... if we want to limit the amount of cases to an amount that is controllable," he said.

In Spain, officials said nursing assistant Teresa Romero now appears to have beaten Ebola but she won't be considered virus-free until she is tested Tuesday for a second time. She was among those treating a Spanish missionary who died of Ebola on Sept. 25.

"The first good news is that the evolution of Teresa Romero is positive," said Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo. "The second is that the 15 others (linked to her) did not present any symptoms."

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EU seeking to create $1.27 billion Ebola fund

LONDON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- British Energy Secretary Ed Davey said Monday the European Union can lead the fight against climate change, but only if certain reforms are enacted.

"Europe has the opportunity to show the world how we can cut emissions while creating investment, jobs and growth, but only if we reform the system and reform it fast," he said in a statement. "Otherwise we're facing increasing costs for businesses, uncertainty for investment and ultimately higher costs for consumers, which isn't acceptable."

Davey said his government was proposing a way to make an emissions trading system work better in the European economy. As it stands, with a skewed trading balance, the system is increasing the overall costs of meeting future carbon reduction obligations, he said.

His comments followed criticism from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who took a swipe at British consideration for leaving the European Union.

Addressing think thank Chatham House, the outgoing president said he was encouraged by British government support for climate policies in the EU, which Friday examines tighter emission reduction targets.

"When the United Kingdom engages, your voice carries weight, your arguments motivate and your pragmatism convinces," he said in his Sunday address.

Leaving, he said, would hinder the British government's own ambitions.

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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London wants EU emissions reforms

Russia Warns The U.S.; "Stop Blackmailing Us"
Greetings Humanity. We are Anonymous. In Latest News. Vladimir Putin meets his Ukrainian counterpart and European Union leaders, warning, he could pull the plug on crucial Russian gas supplies...

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Sri Lanka's EU Ambassador Rodney Perera is to travel to Strasbourg on Monday to attend the EU parliament's plenary session and to mobilise two key committees, foreign affairs and security and defence.

Sri Lanka will contest the decision by a European Union Court to delist the LTTE as a terrorist organisation and will send an envoy to Strasbourg to lobby the EU against the order.

Sri Lanka's EU Ambassador Rodney Perera is to travel to Strasbourg on Monday to attend the EU parliament's plenary session and to mobilise two key committees, foreign affairs and security and defence.

He will also lobby the European Council to challenge the Court's ruling.Last Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the LTTE would no longer be kept on the Council's designated terrorist list.

It was however based on a fundamental procedural ground.The said annulment would be maintained temporarily for a period of three months where a reassessment would be made.

Sri Lankan government would be able to appeal against the decision within two months.The EU ban of the LTTE came in 2006.

Apart from the EU, the LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the USA, India, Canada, the UK and Sri Lanka.

The LTTE was engaged in an "armed conflict" with the Sri Lankan government forces for nearly-three decades, but were defeated in 2009 following the death of its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.

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Sri Lanka to contest European Union's delisting of LTTE as terrorist organisation