Jack Straw today called on Europe to put aside its differences over Iraq as EU leaders made their first high-level visit since the US invasion in 2003.

Speaking in Baghdad, the Foreign Secretary said it was time for Europe to help Iraq to create a stable and democratic future.

"Yes, the Iraq war did divide Europe," Straw said after meeting Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. "Now there is a new spirit around to put the past behind us, to work for this new future for Iraq."

The EU delegation included its foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the External Relations Commissioner, and Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister. Luxembourg currently holds the EU’s rotating six-month presidency, a post that will taken over by Britain in three weeks' time.

They met President Jalal Talabani and were to hold meetings with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and other members of his Shia-led government.

The trip was not announced in advance for security reasons, as suicide car bombings, mortar attacks and drive-by shootings are daily occurrences in Baghdad.

President Talabani, a Kurd, welcomed Europe's change of heart. "We see a night and day difference in the attitude of the EU toward Iraq," he said. "I think there are tremendous opportunities for cooperation between Iraq and the European Union."

Frau Ferrero-Waldner, an Austrian, said that the EU visit to Iraq - the first since the war split the EU and the NATO alliance - was a chance for Europe to take a new road.

"I think it is a very deeply significant event because this is the beginning of a new political relationship that would grow into a real partnership," she said.

The EU commission took a rigorously neutral stance in the dispute among EU members on the war. The trip, which has long been in the cards, was a sign of the trade bloc’s desire to resume normal relations with Iraq.

Talks were being held in preparation for a one-day international summit on Iraq on June 22, hosted by the EU Commission in Brussels, to which more than 80 countries and international organizations have been invited. Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, is also expected to attend.

"It will be a very, very important moment not only for Europe but also for Iraq. We will do our best to help you to establish and restore the rule of law in Iraq," M Asselborn said.

Top representatives from the United Nations, the Arab League and Iraq’s neighbors, including Iran and Syria, would attend the conference, which will aim to bolster international support for political and economic reforms and back efforts to draft a constitution. Iraq is expected to send a large delegation.

In Brussels, EU spokeswoman Emma Udwin said the talks in Baghdad would allow for an exchange of views on the conference where the EU is hoping the Iraqi authorities will set out priorities for international aid.

She said that would help guide the EU’s grant of 200 million euros in aid this year.

"There are wide possibilities for cooperation in the political front, on the security front, on the economic front, on the trade front, and on the cultural front," President Talabani said. "We need this support."

Mr Straw said that the international community was aware of the difficulties Iraq faced in building its democracy and drafting a new constitution. The charter must be ready by mid-August and approved in a referendum two months later. It needs approval from Iraq’s minority Sunni Arabs if it is to be adopted.

There have been calls for more participation in the process by Sunni Arabs, who stayed away from the national elections in January either through fear or because of a boycott. Sunni Arabs are thought to make up the core of the insurgency that has killed about 900 people since the Iraqi government was announced on April 28.

Mr Straw said that Europe would not interfere in Iraq's political process, adding that it was not up to the international community to tell its leaders "how to run Iraq."

He praised the January elections as a success, and said that Mr al-Jaafari’s administration and the newly elected 275-member parliament "made a lot of efforts to pull Sunni representative into government."

In a personal note, Mr Straw turned to President Talabani at the end of the meeting to offer him congratulations on becoming Iraq’s first Kurdish president.

"Your appointment symbolizes the new future for Iraq. Who would have thought under the fear of Saddam, that somebody who has to fight for his freedom, and the freedom of his people would end up as the democratically appointed president of Iraq," Straw said.

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