European leaders are attempting to thrash out a common approach to the Iraq crisis.

Gathering in Brussels for an emergency summit, foreign ministers and heads of government are seeking to bridge the rifts that have shaken both the European Union and NATO.

Jack Straw and Tony Blair attended the meeting which comes after a weekend of huge anti-war protests in Europe's cities.

Amid claims that the meeting will be nothing but a talking shop, Greek prime minister Costas Simitis accepted that "the EU cannot have an overall plan for resolving the problem of Iraq, given that the UN security council is competent for the issue."

He insisted that European unity would help the UN decide the way forward."We do not want dividing lines between the EU countries. We all want peace and we all want to try and find a more practical way of promoting peace," Simitis said.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has predicted that the summit will agree on the necessity of using force against Iraq, with the key depending on acceptable forms of wording over commitment to the UN.

"Everybody recognises war is the last resort," he said.

"I think everybody agrees war may be necessary at a given moment, but we are not at this point. We have to exhaust all the elements of diplomacy and all the elements of keeping inspectors working."

Athens is seeking to find a united European approach to tackling Saddam Hussein against a background of deep divisions among European capitals.

The UK, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Denmark have signed up to the US's tough strategy while France, Belgium and Germany have called for more time for UN weapons inspectors in a bid to halt the drift to war.

The row spilled over into NATO - triggering the alliance's worst crisis for over 30 years - when Turkey and US demanded military commitments to counter a potential Iraq threat.

Paris, Berlin, and Brussels blocked the move, saying it made a second Gulf war inevitable.

But following last ditch talks on Sunday, diplomats found agreement in wording that allowed military planning for Turkey but reasserted the UN path.

"We continue to support efforts in the United Nations to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. This decision relates only to the defence of Turkey, and is without prejudice to any other military operations by NATO, and future decisions by NATO or the UN security council," said a NATO statement.

Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt has trailed the NATO deal as "a good start" for the EU meeting and reminded his colleagues that Europe must be united.

"The future of Europe lies not only in the euro but having a European defence policy," he said.

Europe's doves are said to be spoiling for a fight with hawks as widespread opposition to military action against Iraq prompts Washington and London to play for time.

The event could see the British prime minister defusing domestic hostility to his strategy by signalling a softer line.

America is said to be considering a series of deadlines for Baghdad over the coming weeks - warning Saddam to make specific disarmament moves or face the consequences.

But France is unlikely to play the game, insisting that a larger number of UN inspectors should be given more time to track down Iraq's weapons of mass destruction

French president Jacques Chirac and foreign minister Dominique de Villepin have been stung by US dismissals of "old Europe" and will seek to promote an EU identity distinct form that of Washington.

"Let's ensure Europe is able to assert its identity and its principles. That is what's at stake at the European summit," De Villepin said at the weekend.

It is a move that could see some tough talking and leave European hopes of achieving a common foreign policy in tatters.

Blair is likely to restate the moral case for action - even if it is unpopular.

"I do not seek unpopularity as a badge of honour. But sometimes it is the price of leadership and the cost of conviction," he said on Saturday.