BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders, at a summit marred by anarchist violence, agreed on Friday to participate in a U.N. peacekeeping force for Afghanistan but slapped down Belgian efforts to stick an EU flag on it.
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, announced triumphantly that the 15-nation bloc had decided to create its first multinational force to police Afghanistan once U.S.-led military action ends.
Calling it ``a turning point in the history of the European Union,'' Michel said the force, to involve all 15 EU member states, would number between 3,000 and 4,000.
But after exasperated denials from several partners, notably Britain, Germany and France, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt had to clarify it was individual member states who would participate, and the EU would have no collective role.
The fumbling highlighted a gap between rhetoric and reality as the EU prepared to declare first elements of its embryonic 60,000-strong rapid reaction force operational on Saturday.
``There is no question of the EU having a defense force at the moment, still less of it deploying one it doesn't have in Afghanistan,'' British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.
Diplomats said Greece refused to drop objections to a deal with Turkey that would have given the EU force automatic access to NATO's experienced military planning staff, casting doubts on how the EU could prepare any operations.