EU to restate claim in Mid East peace process

With the main item on the agenda - a political agreement on a monitoring mechanism for the Road Map all but finalised by lower level teams - the main goal of the meeting is expected to provide a strong political statement that members are still working together towards its implementation.

Last month envoys agreed that the US would head security monitoring and the nebulous 'other matters' category of issues which, crucially, includes settlement activity, while the EU will pick up 'Reform' and the UN 'Humanitarian matters'.

International accent

Both the EU and UN are keen to reinforce the plan's international credentials following a period of intense US engagement.

Although this engagement has been welcomed and widely recognised as essential by all, diplomats have been worried that the perception is now that the US is the only player, to the detriment of the process as a whole.

At the Thessaloniki Summit on Friday, EU leaders demanded that "Hamas and other groups declare immediately a ceasefire and halt all terrorist activity".

It also called on Israel to "take action to restore trust and abstain from any punitie measure ... and to act in accordance with international law".

Recent visits to the region by George Bush, who stamped his personal seal on the plan at summit in Aqaba last month, and today's visit by Colin Powell have put terrorism at the very top of the agenda.

Detractors say this has damaged the reciprocal nature of the plan, holding terrorism up as the key issue and pushing the Palestinians to make moves he is not ready or indeed able to make, while placing little pressure on the Israeli government.

Arafat the mountain

Quartet members continue to "agree to disagree" over the fate of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat.

The EU (with the notable exception of Italy) and the UN has been keen not to ostracise Mr Arafat despite strong US and Israeli calls to do so. The US and Israel have been dealing exclusively with the new Palestinian Prime Minister, Abu Mazen.

EU and UN officials believe that only a unified call from a cross-section of the Palestinian authority can deliver a cease-fire from Palestinian militants.

"Aqaba was not a success" said one Diplomat outlining the danger of publicly forcing Mr Mazen to follow US and Israeli demands, "Abu Mazen left weaker than when he arrived".

On the ground

No announcement of practical steps from the Quartet toward monitoring the situation as a whole is expected.

"The timing is not right... we do not want to rock the boat at this early stage... both for the sake of [Mr] Mazen and [the Israeli Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon" said one official.

Leaders are however expected to work on promoting the Syrian and Lebanese tracks of the peace process.

"It is necessary to develop the roadmap so that it incorporates Syria and Lebanon" Russian envoy Andrei Vdovin told the Itar-Tass news agency earlier this week.