Brussels - The European Union must put all hopes of building a closer relationship with Israel on hold until the fighting in the Gaza Strip ends, a group of leading aid agencies said Wednesday.

It would be "inconceivable" for the EU to work for closer ties with Israel at a time when the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has been "pushed to crisis point" by Israel's assault on the salient, the statement by groups including Oxfam and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said.

Brussels - The European Union has carried out raids on companies which

Brussels - French President Nicolas Sarkozy is welcome to mediate in the conflict raging in the Gaza Strip, but he should follow the European Union's line, officials in Brussels said Monday.

"What's important is that the (EU's) message is maintained ... if other visitors pass on the message, we're more than happy," European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj said told journalists.

Brussels - European Union consumers face no risk at present of having their gas cut off because of the row between Russia and Ukraine, but it is urgent to end the dispute before EU stocks run low, a spokesman for the bloc's executive said Monday.

The latest information from EU member states "shows that final consumers are unaffected" by the decision by Russian monopolist Gazprom to cut supplies to Ukraine, and there is "no immediate danger to supplies to European citizens," European Commission spokesman Ferran Tarradellas told journalists in Brussels.

Brussels - The European Union on Monday sent a fact-finding mission to Kiev in a bid to clarify the situation surrounding Russia's shut-off of gas supplies to Ukraine, EU officials confirmed.

The delegation of top officials from the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, and the European Commission, the EU executive, is set to hold talks with Ukrainian political leaders and representatives of the gas industry, a presidency spokesman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Brussels  - The European Union's executive on Sunday pledged 3 million euros (4.2 million dollars) in emergency aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip affected by Israel's week-long bombardment, even as Israeli tanks pushed into the territory.

The European Commission "will provide an extra 3 million euros' relief assistance in the Gaza Strip ... The aid will be deployed as rapidly as possible to meet the basic needs of people affected by the Israeli airstrikes and by continuing access restrictions," a statement released in Brussels said.

The EU is already the largest aid donor to the Palestinian Territories, providing over 73 million euros in humanitarian assistance in 2008, according to official figures.