Abbas to meet EU officials in Brussels

BRUSSELS - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas will meet European Union (EU) officials including EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Brussels on Wednesday, on his way back from a key conference in London.
Abbas will also meet European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament head Josep Borrell during the stopover, following the conference in London Tuesday on Palestinian reforms.
At the one-day talks -- seen as a stepping stone to a genuine Israeli-Palestinian peace conference -- Abbas won international support for a raft of political, economic and security reforms.
The EU has long been the biggest contributor of funds for the Palestinian Authority, which has vowed to relaunch the peace process with Israel following January elections triggered by the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat.

03/01/2005 18:08 GMT