In an address to parliament, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder also reached out to Britain, saying he wanted the United States' closest ally to be intimately involved in drawing up a common EU security and defence policy.

He called on EU leaders to strengthen their military capability, envisaging a future in which EU soldiers could stand alongside UN peacekeepers.

Schroeder conceded that while he had strongly opposed the US-led drive for military action against Iraq and still believed it was the "wrong decision... we were not able to prevent this war."

Berlin would stick to its pledge not to take part in the war, he said, but would continue to permit US forces overflight rights and unfettered access to bases here.

That also applied to German crews manning surveillance flights over Turkey, a fellow NATO ally, although he warned they could be withdrawn if Ankara sent troops into northern Iraq.

Schroeder also said he hoped the war would be over as soon as possible and that "with the overthrow of the dictatorship, the Iraqi people will be able to realise its dream of a life in peace, freedom and self-determination."

Such comments recall US President George W. Bush's vow to "liberate" Iraq, and provide a further indication of the way Germany has softened its anti-war rhetoric since the conflict began two weeks ago.

Analysts say Berlin is keen to start repairing its fractured relations with Washington, which was infuriated by the tone of Schroeder's previous anti-war comments.

Late Wednesday, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said he hoped the Baghdad regime "will collapse as soon as possible."

In his speech, Schroeder said: "The United Nations has to play the central role in shaping Iraq's future and the political reorganisation of the country after the war."

Reconstruction did not just mean dousing a few oilfield fires and repairing damaged infrastructure nor granting a few concessions to companies to rebuild the country, he said.

"It is essential that any process of reconstruction is organised under the responsibility of the United Nations," he added.

Schroeder outlined four key planks for assuring long-term regional peace -- guaranteeing Iraq's territorial integrity; self-determination for its people; ensuring Iraqis maintained control of their oil resources; and making progress in the Middle East peace process.

The chancellor said the threat of weapons of mass destruction was arguably even bigger now than during the Cold War, and the best way to respond was via bodies such as the United Nations, NATO and the European Union.

He said it was vital to have a viable common EU defence and security policy and "especially important" that Britain "is closely involved."

France and Germany remained the motor of European integration, he insisted, saying their cooperation -- including opposing the war on Iraq -- was "one of the few positive developments of the current situation."

Still, "without comprehensive cooperation with Britain and other members of a common Europe, we will not be able to bear the international responsibility that is rightly expected of us."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who met Fischer for talks Wednesday, said differences over Iraq "damaged both the reputation and the substance" of any common EU foreign and security policy.

Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he agreed on the need for a more concerted EU approach but warned that it should not distance itself from the United States.

Instead, he wrote, it should seek "to convince the US to work within rather than outside the multilateral system."

SPACE.WIRE