The European Union pledged today that its member states would participate in a UN peace force for Afghanistan, but Belgium rowed back from an earlier claim that the EU itself would form the force.
Earlier at an EU summit, Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel had called the move a turning point in the history of the European Union. He said all 15 EU member states would participate in a force of between 3,000 and 4,000 soldiers.
A statement read by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said member states of the EU would examine what contribution they could make individually to the force, which Britain is expected to lead and which will have troops from other EU states but also Muslim nations such as Turkey and Jordan.
There was no mention of the EU acting collectively. But the statement said the participation of member states would send a strong signal of their determination to meet their international responsibilities and help with the stabilisation of Afghanistan.
However, British, German, Austrian, French and Danish officials had quickly denied any knowledge of the creation of a joint EU force and suggested Mr Michel's statement might be an attempt to put a European gloss on efforts by individual member states.