(BRUSSELS) - EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel called Monday for an "end to the impunity" in Darfur, after an international prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir.

"It is important to bring an end to the impunity surrounding the crimes" committed in Sudan's Darfur region, he told AFP, noting Khartoum's "flagrant" lack of cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

His remarks came after ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo formally requested an arrest warrant for al-Beshir for genocide, crimes against humanity and warcrimes in Sudan's conflict-torn Darfur region.

Michel said the move "is obviously a major development, which will clearly have a political impact."

Separately, the European Union's French presidency said that the bloc "has taken note of the statements made by the prosecutor of the ICC concerning the crimes committed in Darfur."

"It is now up to the judges of the pre-trial chamber of the ICC to determine what action they intend to take in response to the request issued by the prosecutor," a statement said.

"The European Union recalls that the ICC plays a fundamental role in the promotion of international justice."

Last month, EU foreign ministers warned that the bloc "stands ready to consider measures against individuals for not cooperating with the ICC" if they flouted the UN Security Council resolution that obliges them to do so.

It came after Moreno-Ocampo called on the UN Security Council to demand that Sudan arrest two Darfur war crimes suspects -- Ahmed Haroun and Ali Kosheib.

Sudan rejects the jurisdiction of the ICC.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated regime, fighting for resources and power in one of the most remote and deprived places on earth.

Up to 300,000 people may have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease, according to the United Nations. Sudan claims the death toll from the war does not exceed 10,000.

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