EU nations consider pulling envoys out of Honduras

(BRUSSELS) - EU nations were considering Wednesday whether to pull their ambassadors out of coup-hit Honduras, sources said.

Representatives of the 27 member states would discuss the possibilities at a meeting of the EU's Latin American Committee (COLAT) after Spain on Wednesday became the first European nation to recall its ambassador in Tegucigalpa for consultations on the coup which ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

"Yes, the issue (of recalling envoys) will be discussed," one European source said, without suggesting what the outcomes of the talks might be.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Tuesday that Madrid wanted the European Union to recall all its ambassadors following the military coup in Honduras.

Moratinos told a news conference he was suggesting that "concerted European mechanisms are put in place to seek the recall of European ambassadors posted in Tegucigalpa."

An increasingly isolated Honduras braced for more protests Wednesday with authorities threatening to immediately arrest ousted President Zelaya if he dared to return.

After winning the backing of the UN General Assembly for his bid to return to power, Zelaya was expected in Washington Wednesday for meetings with US officials before heading back to Honduras.

The wealthy 57-year-old rancher was removed in his pyjamas by Honduran troops Sunday and put on a plane to Costa Rica amid a confrontation over his bid to rewrite the constitution so he could run for a second term.

On Sunday the European Union called on the Honduran military to restore constitutional order, calling the coup action "an unacceptable violation of constitutional order in Honduras."

COLAT was also due to discuss talks scheduled in Brussels next week between the European Commission and five Central American countries -- Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador -- in efforts to secure an Association Agreement, including a free-trade deal between the regions.