The European Union have decided to impose "targeted sanctions" against President Robert Mugabe and his cronies within a week if Zimbabwe refuses to admit independent European observers. Backing a British call to maintain "calibrated" pressure on Mr Mugabe, European foreign ministers said sanctions would be triggered automatically if EU election observers were kept out, if free media coverage were hindered, if the human rights situation deteriorated any further or if "the election is assessed as not being free and fair".