The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), said on Friday that it is to open a permanent mission in Iraq for the first time.

The delegation is due to set up within the next few months, said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, briefing reporters after returning from a one-day visit to Iraq.

The mission would be small in the beginning but would grow in size when the security situation allows, said Ferrero-Waldner.

"The security situation is difficult, and that's also the reason why we haven't opened a mission yet," she said. "But we need a delegation there, with all the possible care given to security."

EU and the United States are to co-host a donors' conference in Brussels later this month.

Ferrero-Waldner said the visit showed the EU's commitment to cooperation with the Iraqi authorities despite previous European divisions over the Iraq war.

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2005)