Washington and London have spoken out against plans for closer defence ties announced by four European Union countries which opposed the war in Iraq

The leaders of France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg ended a mini-summit in Brussels by announcing plans for the creation of a joint military planning system by next year, and a multinational headquarters for European military operations in which Nato is not involved. The four countries - all members of Nato - also intend to set up their own rapid reaction force. They also want to launch a European Security and Defence Union, which others would be encouraged to join. Hopes that Europe was ready to move closer to a common defence and foreign policy have been left in tatters by the Iraq war, which split the EU into pro- and anti-war camps. The mini-summit has been criticised for worsening the rift - and critics pointed out that it had excluded the EU's biggest military power, the UK. US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the US saw no need for the proposed new EU military command. He also played down the significance of the summit agreement on defence.