Three members of the European Parliament began a fact-finding mission to Iraq to see the impact of almost 10 years of economic sanctions.
"We have come here to look and to listen to the situation in Iraq so that we can see for ourselves . . . what impact the embargo has had on the people of Iraq," Mr Bashir Khanbhai, the British Conservative member, told reporters.
"We would like to take this information back to the European Parliament, report to our respective political groups in the Parliament and hope that there will be further dialogue," he said. "We all feel that Europe and the European Union should take the initiative and open this door for dialogue."
He said they were making the visit in a personal capacity after informing the European Union and Baghdad.
"This is an initiative from each one of us individually because we are interested in Iraq," he said, adding that Baghdad had given them carte blanche to go anywhere to examine the impact of sanctions imposed following Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Mr Niall Andrews MEP, a second member of the group, condemned continuing sanctions, saying they amounted to war. "I believe that the sanctions on Iraq are a continuation of the war, and a more severe continuation of the war because the civilian population has been devastated," he said.
"We are not taking sides, believe me. But we would like to see Iraq and the United Nations sitting down and negotiating as equals and ending the sanctions as quickly as possible for humanitarian and common compassionate reasons."
The third parliamentarian visiting Iraq is Ms Luisa Morgantini of Italy. The three were received on Monday by the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Tareq Aziz. The official Iraqi News Agency quoted Mr Aziz as "calling on the European states to take positions based on their interests and historical friendly relations that link them with Iraq".
The European Commission said this month that it had approved a humanitarian aid programme, costing 8.6 million euros, mainly to supply drugs and medical equipment to Iraq.
Iraq has been subject to trade sanctions since the Kuwait conflict, but under a 1996 UN programme has been able to sell oil for basic food and humanitarian supplies. Iraq argues that revenues from that agreement are not sufficient and says its people are suffering.