European leaders divided over support for war in Iraq

AS the world waits to hear today what the US insists is compelling proof that Baghdad has arms of mass destruction, EU leaders are desperately trying to cobble together a unified stance.

So far, every effort has underlined the huge divisions between the current member states and the candidate countries. A public letter signed by eight EU leaders last week supporting Washington was seen as a direct riposte to the anti-war stance of France and Germany.

Now, there is a sense of panic in Brussels with the feeling the countdown to war has begun. European politicians are terrified once again they will be seen as impotent and be left on the sidelines. The position of the key EU players on Iraq at present is:

BRITAIN: Standing firmly behind the US, Tony Blair is believed by some to have played a role in persuaded George W Bush to work through the UN. He is devising a second UN resolution to support war against Iraq if Hans Blix's report on February 14 is negative.

FRANCE: Despite its very public opposition to the war, France has already deployed troops in the Gulf. The French are masters at playing high-stake games to protect their national interests, which include Iraq's post-war oil. With Britain, France has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and veto power.

GERMANY: traditionally pro-US but Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was the only EU leader to follow the anti-war stance of the public, and reject US war plans. This helped him to victory in the elections in October but not in his home region last week where he said no to war, even if it had UN support.

Germany holds the chair of the UN Security Council this month but diplomats believe Mr Schroeder's stance has deprived them of the influence this would normally bring.

SPAIN: A staunch US ally and George W Bush' first port of call on his first visit to Europe last year.

Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, a supporter of Tony Blair, signed the open letter last week. They currently sit on the UN Security Council.

PORTUGAL: A US ally, who also signed the letter supporting the US.

ITALY: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was among the signatories to the letter and said the US was the "guarantee of our democracy". He dismissed last week's EU foreign ministers meeting to discuss Iraq as irrelevant.

DENMARK: There was some surprise at Prime Minister's Anders Fogh Rasmussen joining the "gang of eight", as they are called in signing the pro-US letter.

NETHERLANDS: Is broadly supportive of the US and is a signatory to the letter. The other three contributors to the letter were EU candidate countries Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland all NATO members.

Those who believe Mr Blix should be given what time he requires to finish his inspections are: Greece, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France and Germany.

Three neutral or non-aligned countries, seen in the EU has having no clear position, are Ireland, Finland and Sweden.