EU/US: The European Union hopes to offer President George Bush help in training Iraqi police and judges when he visits Brussels for a February 22nd summit aimed at repairing damage to transatlantic ties, an EU official said yesterday.
The plan envisages training 700 to 800 senior Iraqi personnel in EU capitals and is intended to put into practice a pledge made by EU ministers last November to help Iraq develop its justice and security system.
"The proposals have got a generally good reception," said Ms Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. She added that EU foreign ministers could approve the plan at a meeting on February 21st, the day before the summit with Mr Bush.
"We are talking about high-level training for management personnel," said one diplomat. "The preference is for doing it in the EU capitals which want to take part, although we are not shutting the door on [ doing it in] Iraq further down the line."
The interim prime minister of Iraq, Mr Iyad Allawi, secured money and pledges of help from EU leaders in November despite having caused friction by describing states which opposed the US-led war to remove Saddam Hussein as "spectators".
The EU aid package consisted of an extra €16.5 million towards the cost of the Iraqi elections, funding for a UN protection force and assistance to develop the justice system in Iraq. - (Reuters)