Peter Mandelson has warned European governments that they "can't do without" the transatlantic alliance.

The former Cabinet minister was set to deliver a speech on Monday calling for an end to squabbling between the Bush administration and key European governments such as France and Germany.

Delivering the chancellor's lecture at Kent University, Mandelson will urge Europe to accept the need for strong relations with the US.

He will firmly support the policy of the USA and Great Britain towards Iraq, and urge other European partners to line up behind president George Bush.

However, the former minister has acknowledged that many people in Europe are unwilling to give the US leader "the benefit of the doubt".

Mandelson also admitted that Bush was not "the greatest asset" in the government's campaign to gain public backing for a war in Iraq.

However, he stressed that the logic of the prime minister's argument would soon prevail and accused Saddam of having a "supermarket of weapons of mass destruction".

He warned that "sooner or later terrorists are going to come along and buy up what they want".

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Mandelson stressed that Europe "can't do without" the US, and called for increased efforts to bridge the gaps emerging over Iraq.

The former minister argued that American support would be essential to address "the new problems and dangers of the world", as well as older international issues such as continuing environmental degradation and the economic development of Africa.

Whilst he stressed that America should not be isolated, he argued that Europe must strengthen its own international identity in order to equalize the transatlantic relationship.

He condemned Europe's politicians for failing to build a truly common foreign policy, and argued that Europe did not "have the decisiveness, the will, or the unity" to punch it's weight on the world stage.

However, Mandelson argued that disagreement over Iraq was not necessarily symptomatic of wider European disunity.

He said that the focus within the EU could successfully be shifted away from internal matters to concentrating on external relations.

Mandelson praised European contributions in the sphere of "soft" policy such as international aid, but urged the development of a genuine defence identity to allow the use of force as the ultimate extension of diplomatic relations.