Brussels - Red-faced European Union diplomats on Monday confirmed that a peace conference on the Georgian crisis, initially scheduled to be held in Geneva on October 15, would have to be moved because it clashes with a long-planned EU summit in Brussels.

"We arranged (the peace talks) for October 15 ... that was a bit of a slip-up because there will be a (European) council (summit). So it will be a little bit later," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said after a meeting with EU counterparts.

Brussels - European Union diplomats on Monday said that a peace conference on the Georgian crisis, initially scheduled for October 15, would probably have to be moved.

"The date will certainly be moved. It will be moved some days before or after - more likely after," said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, noting that an EU summit had already been planned for the same day.

Last week French President Nicolas Sarkozy, acting as the current chairman of the EU's rotating presidency, agreed with his Russian and Georgian counterparts that the EU would chair "international talks on the modalities of security and stability in Abkhazia and South Ossetia", with the talks due to begin in Geneva on October 15.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday approved sending ceasefire observers to Russian-occupied parts of Georgia, but crucial questions about the mission's mandate remained.

Ministers meeting in Brussels also named French diplomat Pierre Morel as the EU's special representative to Georgia. His first task will be to set up and host international talks on the crisis, which are expected to open in Geneva by the end of next month.

EU diplomats said at least 20 member states had agreed to provide between 200 and 250 civilian observers to "buffer zones" along Georgia's internal borders with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia before October 1.

Brussels- The European Union is considering the launch of a naval operation in Somalia to protect European vessels from pirate attacks in the region, the bloc's foreign ministers said Monday.

EU ministers meeting in Brussels said they had approved "a strategic military option for a possible European Union naval operation."

The move comes just days after a French tuna fishing boat was attacked by Somali pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

The vessel, crewed by mostly French and Spanish fishermen, managed to escape and fled to the Seychelles, the ship's captain said.

Brussels - The European Union is ready to replace Russian troops in Georgia with its own civilian observers within the next two weeks, Javier Solana, the bloc's foreign policy chief, said Monday.

But on the controversial issue of whether the planned 200-strong EU mission will also be deployed in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Solana said a decision would only be made at a later stage.

"The first commitment is to deploy the 200 observers before October 1. It will be done in time ... After that, we will see how the situation evolves," Solana said ahead of talks by EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Nice, France - The European Union's finance ministers were Saturday discussing plans to reduce VAT rates for restaurants and other labour-intensive sectors in a bid to create more jobs at a time of economic slowdown.

The proposal is opposed by those member states which worry that it would merely result in lower tax revenues and higher budget deficits.

At their informal meeting in Nice, ministers would also be reviewing how best to respond to rising inflation and lower-than- expected growth.

The issue was already addressed on Friday by the finance ministers of the 15 countries which share the euro.