BRUSSELS - The European Union (EU) on Thursday welcomed the decision by the Libyan Ambassador to the bloc "to sever links with the Gadhafi regime", saying other senior officials of the regime should follow suit.

Al Hadi Hadeiba, the Libyan Ambassador to the European Union and the Benelux, announced earlier Thursday that he was defecting along with all his staff from the Tripoli government.

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"We have been in contact with him (Al Hadi Hadeiba) and praise his courageous decision to work for a democratic Libya and a better future for the Libyan people,"  EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was quoted by her office.

She said the EU looked forward to remaining in close contact with Al Hadi Hadeiba.

Al Hadi Hadeiba is the latest high-profile official to defect from the Gadhafi-led government, after Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa turned against Tripoli and flew to Britain in March.

"Those at the top of the Gadhafi regime have a choice: stay with Gadhafi and face rejection by their fellow citizens and the international community," said an EU statement following Hadeiba's defection, "Or support efforts to ensure that the hopes and expectations of the Libyan people are realized through democracy and a process that allows all Libyans to come together and decide on their future."

Nevertheless, more than three months into the unrest in the oil-rich North African country, there is still no quick end in sight for the military deadlock as Gadhafi has showed no signs of giving in, despite increasingly fierce NATO air attacks on Tripoli.