 In 2003, Libya formally accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid US$2.7 billion to the families of its victims; the US and UK had made this a condition for terminating the remaining UN sanctions.In 2004, Gaddafi travelled to the headquarters of the European Union (EU) in Brussels—signifying improved relations between Libya and the EU—and the EU dropped its sanctions on Libya.As a strategic player in Europe's attempts to stem illegal migration from Africa, in October 2010, the EU paid Libya over €50 million to stop African migrants passing into Europe; Gaddafi encouraged the move, saying that it was necessary to prevent the loss of European cultural identity to a new "Black Europe".