The European Commission urged European Union member states today to unite to avert long-term damage to the United Nations and the EU's common foreign policy ambitions from a likely war in Iraq.
The EU executive said that in the event of a US-led strike on Iraq, it would make about €21 million immediately available for humanitarian operations in that country.
Spokesman Mr Reijo Kemppinen said in a statement that the Commission deeply regretted the UN Security Council's apparent inability to reach a consensus on Iraq and the 15-nation EU's failure to agree on a common position.
EU members France and Germany are opposed to a draft UN resolution, supported by the United States, Britain and Spain, authorising war against Iraq.
"We believe that we all must work together to reduce potential long-term damage to the United Nations and to our efforts to build a Common Foreign and Security Policy for the Union," he said.
Mr Kemppinen, spokesman for Commission President Romano Prodi, said the executive was calling on all countries concerned "to make one last effort to find a peaceful solution" and recalled its stand that any decision to declare war should be authorised by the United Nations.