Foreign policy:The EU is to reopen direct diplomatic contacts with Syria next week, two years after being blocked by France following the assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri.
In his final summit meeting, French president Jacques Chirac approved a visit to Damascus next week by the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, to seek Syria's help in securing peace in Lebanon. A visit by Mr Solana, rather than individual visits by foreign ministers, would ensure that the union spoke with one voice, the French president said. Mr Solana will also travel to Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
Mr Chirac, who steps down following the presidential election in May, having spent 14 years in office, said he had been worried that unilateral visits by EU foreign ministers would have had "negative consequences".
EU leaders, including Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, pledged their determination to "reinforce Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence". They also pledged their support for an international tribunal to investigate the killing of Mr Hariri, which has been blamed on Syrian intelligence.
Though relations between the governing anti-Syrian coalition and the Lebanese opposition, including Syrian allies Hizbullah and Amal, have been difficult for months, there have been signals recently that all sides want a settlement.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said the EU accepted it had to deal with Damascus: "We want to engage with them [ Syria] as a regional partner.
"They are very important with huge influence. Rather than turning our back on people, diplomacy is what is required," he said.
The EU expressed appreciation for the role played recently by Saudi Arabia in helping to bring about a national unity government in the Palestinian Authority, following bitter clashes between Hamas and Fatah. The EU stood ready "to work with a legitimate Palestinian government that adopts a platform" reflecting the peace proposals put forward by the EU, the US, Russia and the UN.
Meanwhile, EU leaders agreed to cut by a quarter the bureaucratic red-tape created by Brussels legislation by 2012, and to set their own national targets.
They also agreed to improve co-operation with the US on creating common regulatory rules, the protection of intellectual rights, and closer ties on energy and the environment.
