BELGIUM: EU foreign ministers gather in an emergency reunion to discuss the situation in the Middle east

European Union foreign ministers clashed at emergency talks on Tuesday (August 1) over whether to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon as fighting escalated. A draft statement circulated by the EU's Finnish presidency as ministers of the 25-nation bloc began a rare August crisis meeting said: "The Council called for an immediate ceasefire." It also warned of violations of humanitarian law in the three-week-old war without naming one side as perpetrator, and said a political solution was a precondition for deploying an international peacekeeping force. But a British official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the text, sprung on ministers without prior consultation among EU diplomats, was unacceptable. Diplomats said France, Sweden, Spain and Greece backed the draft but Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland wanted an alternative wording calling for a cessation of hostilities. They also objected to a sentence warning that "disregard for necessary precautions to avoid loss of civilian life constitutes a severe breach of international humanitarian law". Unanimity is needed to adopt an EU foreign policy statement. Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, chairing the meeting, branded Israel's decision to step up military action against Hizbollah unacceptable and said it was unlikely to succeed and would only fuel support for Middle East extremists. Britain has so far backed the U.S. line that a ceasefire must be "sustainable" -- seen as a green light for Israel to go on bombing Hizbollah. The bloc is trying to speak with a single voice to press for a halt to the fighting and a political settlement that could see European troops patrolling southern Lebanon. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told Reuters the bloc's credibility was at stake. She said: "Our credibility is at stake here. They expect so much from the European Union, I was in Lebanon with the president of the Council. They absolutely expect from us that we can help. I think we can do that by saying and having one position of unconditional ending of hostilities, and at the same time start to put in place a package for a durable solution, which could come from a resolution at the Security Council, where stabilization troops are clearly put forward." Swedish Foreign Minister Jan Eliasson said: "Generally, we need to stop this escalation of hostilities. We hope that this meeting today will bring in an element of calm and restraint. We must stop this killing and we must get back to the diplomatic path." Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said: "Greece calls for a ceasefire, we need this ceasefire, we need it immediately, if we want to answer to the demands of our European people." Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said: "Today, here in Brussels, we have to do all our utmost to help (U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the United Nations to get a resolution together with the United States." German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "The International Community as well as the United Nations should engage to work for a ceasefire. And I think that the chances to get a ceasefire are good." Ministers were set to push for a quick U.N. Security Council resolution and discuss an international peacekeeping force, without making specific pledges of troops until the political conditions and mandate are clear. EU members France, Italy, Finland, Poland, Sweden and Spain are all considering sending peacekeepers to Lebanon. EU candidate Turkey and Muslim Asian state Indonesia have also said they may provide troops if there is a peace to keep. But diplomats said Paris did not want the EU to spell out at this stage that member states stand ready to contribute troops.

ITN Source | August 1, 2006

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