EU ponders mediation role in conflict

The EU is moving cautiously towards a mediating role in the conflict between Hizbullah and the Israeli army that has killed almost 300 people and forced thousands of EU citizens to flee Lebanon.

Amid continuing violence and fears that the conflict could destabilise the entire region, EU diplomatic efforts are focusing on emergency talks.

EU member states are trying to calibrate carefully their response and to define what role the Union could play in ending the conflict, which threatens to engulf Syria and Iran.

The decision includes what one diplomat called "extremely delicate" considerations about the EU's role in the Middle East.

Efforts are currently being spearheaded by Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, who was among the first foreign diplomats to hold face-to-face talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora after Israeli air attacks began.

Solana returned to the region on Tuesday (18 July) for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

During Tuesday's meeting Livni reiterated his demands that two captured Israeli solders be freed before Israel halts its air offensive in Lebanon.

Solana is expected to brief EU ambassadors on his visit today (20 July).

EU mediation would inevitably mean talking to Hizbullah, which is labelled a terrorist organisation by the US and Israel. But some fear this could undo efforts to improve relations with Israel and jeopardise the EU's role in the Middle East peace process.

Member states have backed Solana's efforts, but some are questioning whether the foreign policy chief, or his Middle East envoy Marc Otte, is in the best position to broker a peace deal.

There have been calls for appointing a special EU envoy from outside the Union's structures. "What can we offer the Syrians, what bargaining chips does the EU have?" asked one diplomat, pleading for delegating the role to someone from an EU member state.

There are also fears that the EU's efforts to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear programme and the Commission's efforts to agree a temporary international mechanism to provide assistance to the Palestinian territories may be harmed by a high-profile role in Lebanon.

Others have expressed a strong will to have Solana at the forefront of the talks, saying there is a need for a strong European voice on the matter.

"The situation is so extremely dangerous that even if our efforts are not a glorious success, we have to try," one diplomat said.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (17 July) appeared determined to lay the ground work for a substantial EU role in stopping the violence.

In contrast with earlier statements from the G8, the EU emphasised the need for both sides to refrain from violence. Foreign ministers also avoided criticising Syria or Iran directly.

The EU is moving cautiously towards a mediating role in the conflict between Hizbullah and the Israeli army that has killed almost 300 people and forced thousands of EU citizens to flee Lebanon.