EU foreign ministers gather for crisis talks on Middle East
By Honor Mahony
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today for crisis talks on the Middle East following almost three weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Member states will try and use the meeting to present a unified front on the conflict which has thrown up deep divisions around the call for an end to the violence.
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The UK, particularly, has been backing Washington's stance in refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire instead backing wording that says sustainable ceasefire - a wording battle that is also being played out at the UN.
Critics of Washington and London's position says it is effectively allowing Israel to continue bombing Hezbollah.
Germany has also not called for an immediate ceasefire, despite rising domestic pressure.
The majority of member states, however, wants today's meeting to result in a call for an immediate ceasefire.
"If the EU cannot function and take a kind of leadership one can say goodbye to the union's influence for a very long time", said Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja, currently heading the EU, on the eve of the meeting.
Political leaders in the European Parliament are also coming together again today for an extraordinary meeting to press member states to speak with one voice on the issue – they met two weeks ago and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Troops
Meanwhile, foreign ministers are also set to discuss the possibility of sending troops to the region as part of a UN mission - but this would only occur if there was a ceasefire.
Irish defence minister Willie O'Dea said his country could send up to 200 soldiers to Lebanon but only if conditions were right, while Italian foreign minister Massimo d'Alema said "in a climate like this, nobody would send their own soldiers".
France, Spain and Sweden are also considering sending soldiers but Germany and the Netherlands have indicated their troops are too stretched to consider participating in a peace-keeping force on the Israeli-Lebanon border.
The meeting will also discuss humanitarian aid to the region and how to safely evacuate refugees.
Last week the EU pledged €11 million to help citizens from poorer countries leave Lebanon; this came on top of the €20 million promised to Lebanese caught up in the conflict. The European Commission has also asked member states to release a further €30 million in aid.