NATO and the EU are to host separate meetings this week over the feared health threat posed by depleted uranium ammunition used by Western forces in the Balkans.
Swedish defence minister Mr Bjoern von Sydow cautioned against expecting quick answers to the question of whether depleted uranium ammunition was responsible for a rise in cancer cases among veterans of Balkan peacekeeping missions.
"It's not easy to find a definitive conclusion soon to this problem, but the process will start tomorrow,'' Mr von Sydow said in Brussels after announcing the meetings.
Mr von Sydow, whose country holds the current EU presidency, said the issue had been added to the agenda of tomorrow's meeting of the EU's political and security committee at the request of Belgium and Greece.
The NATO political committee will also discuss the depleted uranium issue the same day.
Belgium and Greece are among European countries concerned that cases of cancer found among military personnel in the Balkans may have been caused by radioactive material used in armour-piecing shells fired by Nato forces during the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999.
Several countries have begun screening their Balkan peacekeeping veterans for signs of contamination.
The German defence ministry confirmed yesterday that NATO warned in July 1999 of the possible dangers from depleted uranium ammunition in the Balkans and called for proper precautionary steps to be taken.
AP