European Union leaders have called on the Israeli Prime Minister and the President of the Palestinian Authority to meet as soon as possible to prevent a descent into war in the Middle East.
The leaders warned that both sides must take urgent action before "the point of no return" is reached.
"Time is running out. We call on the parties to participate, in a constructive spirit, in a summit meeting, in order to secure the urgent resumption of the dialogue," they said in a joint declaration.
The Taoiseach said that the EU wanted to make itself available to both parties in the Middle East in any way that could help towards restoring peace and he acknowledged that the escalation in the conflict posed a threat to the security of more than 600 Irish soldiers serving with the United Nations in South Lebanon.
"Of course it raises problems for our troops. But I suppose we live in the hope and confidence that our soldiers know this terrain and the risks involved very well.
The first thing that has to happen here is to restore calm," he said.
The EU's foreign and security policy supremo, Mr Javier Solana, briefed the leaders about his visit to the Middle East this week and his talks with the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Yasser Arafat.
The former Israeli prime minister, Mr Shimon Peres, met a number of EU leaders in Biarritz yesterday, although the French government, which hosted the meeting, insisted that he was present in a personal capacity.
The German chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, who was among those who met Mr Peres, acknowledged last night that the EU's scope for influencing the conflict in the Middle East was limited. "I think the EU would overestimate itself if it thought it could play a direct, mediating role," he said.
The limits of the EU's influence were made painfully clear within hours of yesterday's declaration when the United States and Egypt poured cold water on the idea of an Israeli-Palestinian summit this weekend.
The EU is the largest donor of non-military aid to the Middle East peace process, providing an average of €179 million a year for the past six years to the Palestinian Authority, refugees and regional projects connected with the peace process.
Including aid to Israel's four neighbouring countries, the EU's economic support amounts to more than €810 million in grants and loans.
As the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority and the most significant trade partner for Israel, the EU believes it should have more influence in the region. But the lack of a coherent, single foreign policy has hampered EU efforts to enhance its diplomatic role.
The violence in the Middle East has overshadowed the Biarritz summit, distracting the EU leaders from their primary task of discussing internal reforms to prepare for enlargement.
The French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, spoke emotionally of the "trauma" felt by European leaders as they watched the spiral of violence in the Middle East. He promised to spare no effort in helping to bring the two sides together and put the peace process back on track.
The German Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, warned that talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders represented the only hope of preventing a catastrophe.
"If there is no interruption to the spiral of violence, a crisis threatens. We are standing on the edge of it," he said.
