Speaking after a meeting of Europe's foreign ministers on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called on member states to be prepared to participate in operations in the Middle East.

“It is important that member states are ready to consider participating in this force,” Solana told a press conference.

“I am confident they are ready to take part if required. But at the moment this is just an idea.”

The comments echo those of British Prime Minister Tony Blair who said the "only way" to stop the fighting was to deploy UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

EU preparedness comes as some analysts predict a major ground invasion of southern Lebanon by Israel, which wants to remove Hizbullah's capacity to fire missiles over the border.

Meanwhile EU officials are working hard to step up consular cooperation between European outposts in the region - to secure the safe exit of Europeans wishing to leave.

“Our concern for the safety of EU citizens in the region is growing,” Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuonioja told reporters on Monday.

“We have been coordinating intensive consular cooperation for those who wish to leave.”

During its six months in EU office, the Finnish presidency has been charged with implementing formal channels for consular communication.

But Helsinki insists that even with the formal mechanisms not yet in place, cooperation between embassies is proving effective.

“Even without the consular cooperation in place that we have been entrusted to work on, the improvisation has worked very well,” Tuonioja said.

On Sunday military planes evacuated 350 from Lebanon people to Cyprus.

The evacuees, including Spaniards, Italians, Austrians, Czechs and Irish, were flown from Syria on Italian military craft.

France has chartered a cruise ship and a ferry that were expected to arrive in Beirut on Monday to transport French and other European citizens to Cyprus.

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