PARIS, Nov 11 (AFP) - European leaders marked the passing of Yasser Arafat Thursday with tributes, expressions of regret, hopes for progress in the region and warnings to their nationals to take extra care in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Leading the tributes, French President Jacques Chirac visited the Percy military hospital near Paris to bid a final farewell to Arafat, pledging that his country would continue to work to achieve a settlement in the Middle East.
"I have come to bow before president Yasser Arafat and pay him a final homage," he said after the 25-minute visit.
Pope John Paul II said he shared in the pain of the Palestinian people over the loss of their leader and had prayed for him, the Vatican said.
In a message of condolence to the president of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Rawhi Fattuh, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano said the pope felt "particularly close to Arafat's family, the authorities and the Palestinian people".
Pope John Paul II gave Arafat an audience at the Vatican in September 1982, as leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. They had seven other meetings.
"The best tribute to president Arafat's memory will be to intensify our efforts to establish a peaceful and viable state of Palestine as foreseen by the roadmap," European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who flew to Washington Thursday ahead of talks with Bush with the peace process at the top of agenda, said: "Peace in the Middle East must be the international community's highest priority."
"I would like to express my condolences to the family of President Arafat and to the Palestinian people," Blair said, emphasising "that the goal of a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel is one that we must continue to work tirelessly to achieve.
"We will do whatever we can working with the US and EU to help the parties reach a fair and durable settlement," he concluded.
But the Foreign Office (ministry) warned Britons that the security situation in the West Bank and Gaza strip could deteriorate in the aftermath of Arafat's death.
A similar warning came from Germany whose Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sent his condolences to the Palestinian people as Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said his passing marked "the end of an era".
Russian President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences, saying Arafat's demise was a heavy loss to the Palestinians.
Arafat was a "great political leader of international significance ... who devoted his whole life to the rightful cause of the Palestinians," Putin said.
In a statement Madrid hailed Arafat as "one of the most prominent political figures of our time"
and both King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Luis Rodriguez Zapatero sent telegrams of condolence.
A less generous reaction came from Rome, where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who had a frosty relationship with Arafat, declared the Palestinian people had lost "a symbol".
"With him, the Palestinian people lose a symbol of their aspiration to be able to affirm their own national identity," Berlusconi said in a statement expressing his government's condolences.
It was later made clear that no senior Italian government offficial would be attending the funeral in Cairo Friday.
Austria said through President Heinz Fischer that it would help bring about "the political testament" of the dead Palestininian leader and hailed his "tireless combat."
For Polish Prime Minister Aleksander Kwasniewski Arafat was a "charismatic and controversial personality" and called on his successors to pursue his efforts for a peaceful solution in the Middle East.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passi saw in Arafat's death "the end of an historic era" and called him the symbol of the Palestininian cause.
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberg said Arafat had "entered history as the champion of the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people."

11/11/2004 16:40 GMT - AFP