arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Speaking after Nato talks in Brussels, Mr Rumsfeld said he was confident any separate EU military planning unit would not undermine the alliance.

But he refused to say if he thought the EU needed such a unit.

Meanwhile Nato Secretary General George Robertson urged Nato member countries to provide extra forces to boost the peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan.

Ministers also agreed to cut the Nato-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia from 12,000 to 7,000 by March.

Nato is expected to end the mission shortly afterwards and hand control to EU troops and police.

Diplomatic squirming

The issue of a special EU military planning unit has previously led to strong words and stormy talks.

But at a press conference following the Brussels meeting, Donald Rumsfeld said he was confident any EU defence plan would not threaten the US-led Nato alliance.

We must stay the course in Afghanistan - if we don't Afghanistan and its problems will appear on all of our doorsteps

Lord Robertson
"I am confident and hopeful that things will sort through so that we end up with an arrangement that is not duplicative or competitive," he told reporters.

However, he refused to be drawn when asked if he thought the European Union needed its own military planning capability.

Mr Rumsfeld was quoted as saying, upon arrival in Brussels on Sunday: "I think there is no reason for something else to be competitive with Nato."

Lord Robertson also avoided straight answers on the issue by maintaining he did not know the details of the EU's plans, but he insisted that they must avoid unnecessary duplication of effort with Nato.

The BBC's Angus Roxburgh says the diplomatic squirming suggests considerable unease in the alliance.

What appears to worry the Americans most is that the EU's defence plans are evolving rapidly and could yet turn into something more independent, says our correspondent.