The President of the European Commission, Mr Romano Prodi, has said that Europe's future may depend on how it responds to the crisis over Iraq. Addressing the European Parliament, Mr Prodi recalled that previous crises have become springboards for further European integration.
But he said Europeans now face a crossroads and a crucial choice about the continent's future role in the world.
"However much time it may take to put our plans into practice, the moment of truth for Europe's foreign and defence policy has come.
"The decision demands far-sightedness and great political courage, but the choice is clear: do we want to be left out, all of us, from the management of world affairs? Or do we want to play a part, on an equal footing with our allies, in building a new world order?"
Mr Prodi was speaking during a debate on last week's EU summit that saw some MEPs protest against the war in Iraq, waving posters bearing the words: "no war, no murder".
He said it was time to stop relying on the EU for economic growth and on the US for security. He said last week's initiative by France, Germany and Belgium aimed at integrating their defence forces could mark the start of a serious attempt to create a coherent European defence policy.
"After 50 years, it is high time to address the issue of defence and to face up to the fact that, for the first time, people are calling for this," he said.
Mr Prodi said that, despite EU divisions over the war, European governments are agreed that the United Nations should play a central role in reconstructing Iraq once war ends. He stressed that the Iraqi people should play a central role in creating a new political order in their country after the war.
The President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, said he hoped President Bush will listen to a call from the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, for a central role for the UN in post-war Iraq.
Mr Cox described as deeply disturbing the images of war that have come from Iraq. "Despite sanitised video imagery, the horror of war is beginning to reveal itself," he said.