Europe unites to call for central UN role in rebuilding Iraq

European Union leaders buried their divisions over Iraq to call for the United Nations to play a "central role" in the reconstruction of the country, at the end of a two-day summit in Athens yesterday.

In a cautiously worded statement, the leaders said the UN shouldco-ordinate humanitarian efforts to which the EU would contribute up to $100m (about £60m). Some members said they were considering contributing troops to a "stability force" for Iraq.

Greece, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said: "The UN must play a central role, including in the process leading towards self-government for the Iraqi people, utilising its unique capacity and experience in post-conflict nation-building." Voicing a pragmatism reflecting the military reality on the ground, the statement said that the immediate responsibility for bringing security, restoring peace and delivering humanitarian aid to Iraq lay with the US-led forces.

The French President Jacques Chirac, Europe's leading opponent of the war, echoed the tacit recognition of the invasion, accepting the need to phase in the "essential role of the UN" in Iraq. He also said the EU would create an "air bridge" in the next few days to fly out wounded Iraqis, especially children, for urgent hospital treatment in Europe.

Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, said it was imperative to act quickly and that the EU had already spent $20m on aid.

Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, met M. Chirac and the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov. Mr Annan also said the UN had an important role but stressed the danger of acting too quickly. "There are various phases of post-conflict Iraq and I am not saying precisely when the UN gets in," he said. "But, of course the [Security] Council will have to take some decisions and if the UN were to go in regardless of what stage it goes in, one will have to define the relationship between the UN, the occupying power and occupied Iraq."

He ruled out the UN playing a subordinate role to America or Britain and rejected the idea of the UN running an Iraqi administration. Diplomats have said that Mr Annan might favour a UN-organised conference, similar to the one held for Afghanistan, to enable Iraqis to choose an interim government, paving the way for elections.

The fault lines of previous EU divisions remained visible, as seven members, led by Denmark, responded favourably to a US initiative, aimed at creating an international peace-keeping force, that excluded French troops.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish Prime Minister, said he was spearheading efforts to assemble a 3,000-strong "stability force" to be deployed in Iraq, where violence and looting are rife. He said: "One could say that we are trying to gather a brigade, and much points to a number of countries being ready to contribute. We will continue to build on that."

Diplomats said that Spain and Italy, with the newcomers to the EU Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, had responded positively to the proposal. M. Chirac said he was unaware of plans for the force and Greece avoided all mention of it in the conclusions to the summit.

The summit called for the so-called "road-map" leading to the creation of a Palestinian state to be implemented to ensure regional stability.