Brussels - Israel must keep working towards a two-state solution in its conflict with the Palestinians, European Union foreign ministers insisted on Monday as an ultra-nationalist Israeli party looked set to join the country's future government.

"One would of course expect that a new Israeli government would respect the previous obligations: that includes the commitment to a two-state solution," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said as he arrived in Brussels for regular talks with EU counterparts.

Brussels - The European Union on Monday said the Pakistani government's decision to reinstate the country's sacked top judge would allow the country to move forward and confront its real enemies - extremism and fundamentalism.

"I am very positive about what has happened. This is a good step forward," said the bloc's external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Ferrero-Waldner was part of the EU troika that held talks in Prague last week with Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Brussels - European Union foreign ministers hit a deadlock Monday over a plan to spend 5 billion euros (6.5 billion dollars) in community funds on energy and high-tech projects to boost the economy, diplomatic sources said.

The failure to agree sets up a political flashpoint just days before EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels for a summit aimed at lifting Europe out of economic crisis.

Brussels - European Union foreign ministers were set Monday to lengthen both the carrot and the stick they use to deal with Belarus in a bid to improve the country's human-rights record and stop it from recognizing two breakaway Georgian areas.

"For 12 years we tried the policy of sanctions and we saw where it took us: basically nowhere. Now for one year we've tried to open up a little bit ... there have been some improvements but we're not there yet," Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said.

Brussels, Mar. 14 : The continuous spate of political confrontation in Pakistan has further attracted the attention of the international community, with the European Union (EU) now expressing serious concerns over the issue.

"We voiced serious concern at the current political instability in Pakistan," The Dawn quoted a senior EU diplomat, as saying.

Brussels - European Union member states which host subsidiaries to General Motors on Friday closed ranks to protect jobs on their territory after talks with the firm, vowing to coordinate all their actions rather than going it alone.

The ministers of 12 EU member states linked to GM and its subsidiaries "agreed to ensure that no national measures should be taken without prior information and coordination with other involved countries," a statement from the EU's executive, the European Commission, which hosted the talks, said.