BRUSSELS - The European Union is actively planning for Libya without Muammar Gadhafi following the rapid advance of rebel forces over the weekend and urged the Libyan leader to leave "without further delay".

"We seem to be witnessing the last moments of the Gadhafi regime and we call on Gadhafi to step down without further delay and avoid further bloodshed," Michael Mann, a spokesman for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, said on Monday.

"We have post-Gadaffi planning going on ... we do have a number of scenarios that we have worked in terms of our assistance post-Gadaffi," he said.

The EU urged the rebels, who have been fighting to oust Gadhafi since nearly six months, to act responsibly and protect civilians as they push into the capital Tripoli.