The European Union has agreed to provide financial support for the Iraqi elections planned for January in advance of a meeting today with Iraq's interim Prime Minister, Mr Iyad Allawi.
As Mr Allawi yesterday urged EU "spectators" to get involved in rebuilding his country, the EU's External Relations Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, announced that the latest €16.5 million will fund the training of up to 150 Iraqi election observers, the supply of technical equipment and the sending of EU election experts to Iraq.
The money brings to €31.5 million the financial support offered by the EU to support Iraqi elections and to €320 million the total financial support for Iraq in the last two years.
The 25 EU leaders will hold discussions with Mr Allawi here today on other possible assistance, such as help to develop Iraq's criminal justice system, support for a UN protection force and the prospect of preferential trade terms between Iraq and the EU.
Mr Allawi yesterday urged EU states that had opposed the war on Iraq to join the efforts to rebuild the country. His call for greater European support comes as some EU member-states, such as Poland and Hungary, plan to reduce their involvement in the US-led military force, and as France and Germany continue to refuse to become involved.
Indeed, deep EU divisions over Iraq remained on public display yesterday, after the office of the French president confirmed that Mr Chirac would not attend today's meeting with Mr Allawi. The Elysée Palace denied this was a snub to the man who has criticised France's opposition to the US-led war. Mr Chirac will leave for the United Arab Emirates before the lunch-time meeting.
EU diplomats maintained that France had succeeded in watering down EU pledges of assistance to Baghdad to be made to Mr Allawi and had even sought to delete a sentence welcoming the interim prime minister.
As the US works to maintain the international element to the military force it leads in Iraq, the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, pledged yesterday that Italy would keep its troops in Iraq for as long as they were needed.
Although Hungary said yesterday it would withdraw its 300 troops by the end of next March, the Czech parliament agreed yesterday to extend the mandate of their 100 troops until after the January elections.
During a visit to Rome yesterday, where he met the Pope, Mr Allawi urged the countries that had been acting as "spectators" on the Iraqi crisis to get involved in rebuilding the country.
The Danish Prime Minister, Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told reporters that countries which had opposed the war, such as France and Germany, were now disposed towards helping rebuild the country.
The Dutch Foreign Minister, Mr Bernard Bot, said yesterday that the financial package showed that the EU was united again after the divisions over Iraq. The Netherlands currently holds the rotating EU presidency.