The European Union called on Friday for the United Nations to be handed a "vital and growing" function in post-war Iraq's political transition and a Security Council resolution endorsing that role.
Diplomats said the bloc's stance might help dissuade Spain's prime minister-elect from withdrawing troops from Iraq, and it may exert pressure on Washington to seek a UN resolution as a guarantee of European engagement in the country's stabilisation.
"A strong UN role in this political process is an element for its success," leaders of the EU's 25 current and future member states said in a statement after a two-day summit.
"The European Council (of leaders)...looks forward to the UN playing a vital and growing role endorsed by the UN Security Council in the run-up to transition and beyond."