EU's foreign ministers to meet on Iraq
The EU envoys had met in Brussels in an effort to better coordinate the response by member states.
BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Union s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is ready to hold a meeting of foreign ministers on the crisis in Iraq, a spokesman said Wednesday.
"Ashton is ready to convene a FAC (Foreign Affairs Council) as early as this week and is checking with member states if it is possible," the spokesman said, following a meeting of EU ambassadors on Tuesday.
France and Italy have for days been calling for such a meeting to respond to Iraqi Kurd appeals for weapons in the face of a jihadist onslaught in northern Iraq.
The EU envoys met in Brussels Tuesday in an effort to better coordinate the response by member states to a crisis the EU s executive called the world s most pressing emergency.
They unanimously agreed on the need for urgent and increased humanitarian support but did not call for a meeting of foreign ministers, which is needed for any major coordinated action by bloc countries.
