Show of unity marred by snub to Nato chief

War on Terrorism: Europe

Europe's public show of unity over the terrorist attacks has been marred by private tensions with Nato, and claims that the EU has snubbed the alliance's secretary general, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen.

The dispute, which has its origins in Nato's decision to invoke its collective security agreement, came to a head on Friday when the EU declined to invite Lord Robertson to its emergency one-day summit in Brussels.

One Nato source said that the decision not to invite Lord Robertson had left a "sour taste". An EU diplomat said that "no member state was pushing for his presence", not even the "usual suspects" such as Britain.

Belgium, which holds the EU presidency, is responsible for issuing invitations to summits. But Nato appears to be blaming Javier Solana, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs (and Lord Robertson's predecessor as Nato head). Mr Solana is said to have clashed with Lord Robertson over the right to attend meetings at the other's organisation.

The cooling of a normally close relationship raises questions over the ability of the EU and the alliance to co-ordinate a political reaction when the US undertakes its military retaliation.

The row goes back to Nato's surprise decision to invoke Article 5, its collective security, which states that an attack against one alliance country is an attack against all.

That move, which emerged with little warning, proved contentious among some European Nato countries which concluded, in the words of one EU diplomat, that the US and Nato had "pulled a fast one".

Only a couple of hours before that decision was taken, Lord Robertson attended an emergency meeting of the EU foreign ministers but, despite a 15-minute intervention, failed to mention the possibility of Article 5 being invoked.

That helped to fuel suspicion among some of the more cautious EU countries, including Belgium. Eleven EU countries belong to Nato, but the other four – Ireland, Austria, Sweden and Finland – are non-aligned. They joined with the other 11 on Friday to issue an unprecedented declaration backing US reprisals against "the states which aid, support or harbour terrorists".

European diplomats say that it was crucial for the political sensitivities of several countries that the leaders should meet as the EU and not in a Nato forum. However, the relationship between the alliance and the EU has been tense since Europe launched its plans for a rapid reaction force of 60,000 troops, which is due to be operational by 2003.

The row came as the EU's most senior foreign policy officials prepared a five-day tour of the Middle East and Pakistan to try to solidify international opinion around its support for the US. They will visitIslamabad, Tehran, Jeddah, Cairo, Amman and Damascus.