EU Calls For Immediate Mideast Cease-Fire

"There are no divisions in the European Union, and the key sentences, of course, how the Council [of Ministers] calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities, to be followed by a sustainable cease-fire," Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said at a news conference in Brussels.

Tuomioja said the 25 EU ministers agreed that an immediate cessation of hostilities, followed by a sustainable cease-fire and political agreement, should be followed by the deployment of an international force to the region.

Earlier reports said that Great Britain, Germany, and other EU members were initially against the call for an immediate cease-fire, objecting to the wording of the document.

(AP, Reuters, EU-TV)