UN/EU: A delegation of 21 Members of the European Parliament arrived at UN headquarters in New York yesterday to lobby against war in Iraq. The MEPs are to meet UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan, chief weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix and diplomats today to promote their anti-war message.
The group's three-day mission is "to convey a last-ditch peace message to US officials and the American people, and to explain why large majorities of the European public are opposed to a military intervention".
It is led by Mrs Francis Wurtz, President of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left Group, Mr Paul Lannoye of the Belgian Greens and leader of the Greens in the EP, and Mr Proinsias de Rossa, MEP for Dublin and President of the Labour Party. It also includes Ms Patrica McKenna, Green Party MEP from Dublin.
The group is appealing for more time for inspections and against a war that would have "devastating social, economic and environmental consequences".