Zimbabwe's embattled white chief justice finally agreed to take early retirement yesterday after extracting an assurance from the government that it would not embark on an immediate purge of the judges who have incurred Robert Mugabe's wrath.  The compromise deal came as a diplomatic row threatened to erupt in Europe over Mr Mugabe's planned meeting with a European Union commissioner in Brussels, with the Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt on Monday and with the French president, Jacques Chirac, in Paris on Tuesday.  In Zimbabwe, sceptics question the value of the signed agreement between Anthony Gubbay, the 68-year-old chief justice, and the justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa. The deal was signed several hours after Mr Gubbay received a visit at the supreme court from one of the most notorious leaders of the "war veterans", Joseph Chinotimba, who openly threatened him with violence.  "I talked to him personally and I told him to vacate the office today. No one is above the law," Mr Chinotimba said afterwards. "We ought to teach him how cases are finalised here. We will declare war."  Earlier this week, Mr Gubbay withdrew an agreement to take early retirement in July after the justice minister announced that he intended to appoint a government supporter as the new chief justice.  Mr Mugabe is keen for Mr Gubbay's chosen successor, Godfrey Chikausikyu, to set up a tribunal to hear accusations of misconduct against judges who ruled that the government's seizures of white-owned farms is illegal.  The first targets are expected to be the other four supreme court judges and several high court judges who are likely to rule against the government if, as expected, it tries to raise legal barriers against the opposition in the looming presidential election.  Under yesterday's agreement, Mr Gubbay will retire in July and go on immediate leave. An interim chief justice - Mr Chikausikyu, it is presumed - will be appointed but Mr Gubbay will be able, technically, to block any purge of other judges until July.  In Brussels yesterday, the European commission was forced to defend a controversial decision taken unilaterally by Poul Nielson, the EU's development and humanitarian aid commissioner, to have lunch with Mr Mugabe on Monday.  The lunch has already been condemned by the Zimbabwean opposition, but Brussels signalled that it would not back down. Gunnar Wiegand, a commission spokesman, said that there were no sanctions in force against Zimbabwe to prevent a meeting.  "We will soon start a critical dialogue with Harare and it is very normal under those circumstances that Nielson would meet the president."  The commission's weekly calendar, which records any meetings with heads of state, omitted to mention the lunch. Mr Wiegand denied that this was deliberate.  A source told the Guardian that Mr Nielson would, nevertheless, express his alarm at the treatment of the media and the judiciary on Monday.  "Mugabe is not a nice guy but there are worse. When UN sanctions were still in place on Libya people were queueing up to meet Gadafy. The fact is that Mugabe is in power and has been elected and the commission has to deal with him."  There were signs yesterday afternoon, however, that Mr Verhofstadt might be getting cold feet. A spokeswoman at his private office said that no decision had yet been taken. However, the political counsellor at Zimbabwe's Brussels embassy said the meeting would happen.  More on the crisis in Zimbabwe on the Guardian network at guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe Classification Language: ENGLISH Subject: JUDGES (90%); AGREEMENTS (90%); APPOINTMENTS (90%); LAW COURTS & TRIBUNALS (89%); TALKS & MEETINGS (89%); EUROPEAN UNION (89%); SUPREME COURTS (89%); HEADS OF STATE & GOVERNMENT (89%); PRIME MINISTERS (78%); EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS (78%); EARLY RETIREMENT (78%); FRENCH PRESIDENTS (78%); JUSTICE DEPARTMENTS (78%); INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (77%); INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS (76%); ELECTIONS (73%); CAMPAIGNS & ELECTIONS (73%); MISCONDUCT (72%); HEADS OF GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS (71%) Company: IF AS (65%); IF AS (65%); EUROPEAN UNION (91%); EUROPEAN UNION (91%) Organization: EUROPEAN UNION (91%); EUROPEAN UNION (91%); EUROPEAN UNION (91%); EUROPEAN UNION (91%) Person: ROBERT MUGABE (79%); JACQUES CHIRAC (55%) Geographic: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (90%); HARARE, ZIMBABWE (79%); PARIS, FRANCE (79%); ZIMBABWE (94%); EUROPE (93%); EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES (93%); FRANCE (92%); BELGIUM (92%)