No backing for attack on Iraq

Published on Saturday 16 March 2002 00:00

TONY Blair is isolated in Europe over his stance supporting the US attacks on Iraq.

At the European Summit taking place in Barcelona, it has become clear that other European Union countries are against offering backing to George Bush’s stated aim of eradicating Saddam Hussein’s capability to launch weapons of mass destruction.

Gerhard Schroder, the German Chancellor, is reported to have rejected using German armed forces in any action unless there was a clear United Nations mandate.

Mr Blair has made it clear that Britain backs attacks against Iraq although he yesterday refused to be drawn on the subject, limiting himself to a brief comment. He said: "We are not at the stage of decisions."

But Javier Solana, EU foreign affairs commissioner, while echoing Blair's comments about there being no need to make decisions now, also hinted that UN endorsement of any offensive against Iraq was contemplated.

He said: "We will have plenty of time to think about that. We want to see how the situation may evolve in New York at the United Nations."

But he did repeat that Iraq should open its borders to weapons inspectors.

Mr Blair met Mr Schroder yesterday and the issue of Iraq was raised. It was also discussed at the heads of government dinner, along with other pressing foreign issues like the Middle East and Zimbabwe.

The first summit of the six-month Spanish EU presidency has followed the pattern of recent gatherings. Many roads in and out of Barcelona have been closed to normal traffic as part of a military-like security operation.

A tight security cordon has been erected around the square mile of the city centre where the meetings are taking place. It is in response to the combined threat of anti-globalisation protesters, Basque separatists, and international terrorist groups.

Last night, rioting broke out in the city centre. But it appeared that the police tactic of keeping the groups of demonstrators apart had limited the violence.

Today, Spain's bitter football rivals will add to the tension. Tens of thousands of Real Madrid supporters will arrive in the Catalan city for their La Liga clash with Barcelona.