EU leaders have issued a strong warning to Iraq to disarm peacefully or risk war, stating that UN weapons inspections cannot continue indefinitely.
The 15 leaders ended an emergency summit in Brussels last night with a joint declaration which is considerably tougher than one made by EU Foreign Ministers last month.
"Baghdad should have no illusions: it must disarm and co-operate immediately and fully. Iraq has a final opportunity to resolve the crisis peacefully. The Iraqi regime alone will be responsible for the consequences if it continues to flout the will of the international community," they said.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said there was a broad range of agreement between the leaders, but he acknowledged that the divisions within Europe over how to resolve the crisis in Iraq had not been overcome.
"There are ongoing differences on the length of time for which inspections should continue in the absence of full co-operation. They were evident in New York last week and they persisted today," he said.
In a nod to European public opinion and last Saturday's anti-war demonstrations, the leaders said it was clear that the people of Europe want a peaceful resolution to the crisis. However, for the first time in a formal EU statement, they acknowledged that war remained an option if Iraq failed to comply with UN resolutions.
"War is not inevitable. Force should be used only as a last resort. It is for the Iraqi regime to end this crisis by complying with the demands of the Security Council," they said.
Mr Ahern praised those who demonstrated on Saturday, adding that he had spent much of his political life working for peace. But he said that the demonstrations had made no difference to the Government's policy on Iraq."It didn't change our position."
Over dinner, the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, urged the leaders to consider that they were discussing the lives of "many thousands of people far way".
Other leaders, including the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, told Mr Chirac sharply that they were as concerned about the loss of Iraqi lives as he was.
Sources say that Mr Ahern made a robust intervention, stating that weapons inspections "could not go on forever", and warning that the authority of the Security Council was at stake.
The UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, who joined the leaders at the start of their meeting, urged them to focus on disarming Iraq rather than turning on one another.
He said Iraq must choose between compliance and conflict, but warned that any action taken against Iraq without UN support would lack legitimacy.
The agreement came after a day of talks involving EU Foreign Ministers and senior diplomats. Representatives from a number of member-states praised the contribution of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, as a succinct analysis of the elements on which all EU governments agree.
Government sources identified a number of elements in the final declaration as Irish suggestions, including the acknowledgement that the people of Europe want peace.
They said that the Taoiseach and Mr Cowen had also suggested the phrase "inspections cannot continue indefinitely in the absence of full Iraqi co-operation".
Germany blocked a British proposal to warn Iraq that "time is running out", but all the leaders expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the meeting. Diplomats said that, apart from a few sharp exchanges over dinner, the mood at the meeting was unexpectedly harmonious and constructive.
Mr Ahern defended the Government's decision to allow US forces to stop at Shannon Airport, saying it was a small contribution to a military build-up which was putting effective pressure on Iraq.
The UN Secretary General made it absolutely clear tonight that the military build-up and the considerable security effort is getting us to where we are now.
Guardian Service adds: President Saddam Hussein was last night reported to have placed his defence minister and close relative under house arrest in an move apparently designed to prevent a coup.
Iraqi opposition newspapers, citing sources in Baghdad, yesterday claimed that the head of the Iraqi military, Lieut-GenSultan Hashim Ahmad al-Jabburi Tai, was now effectively a prisoner in his home in the capital.
