"I would like to tell our American allies that no country in the world, even the most capable, is capable of tackling the global challenges as shown in Afghanistan and Iraq," Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski told a closing session of a three-day European Economic summit.

"The European Union needs the United States, but we can see how much the US needs Europe as well," said Kwasniewski, whose country, the biggest set to join the EU as midnight rings in Saturday, was one of Washington's staunchest allies in the war which toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

A similarly strong message came from Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio, whose country also backed Washington over Iraq, who told Washington: "Our role is not only to follow.

"Please do not repeat last year's events in relation to the Iraqi problem," he told the session.

"I'm a true believer in these relations. But I'm totally against an intellectual domination. We need to get back to the multilateral approach."

Although Sampaio, a socialist, opposed the war, the centre right Portuguese government backed it.

The EU was split in two when the United States decided to go to war in Iraq last year.

The EU's incoming, mainly ex-communist bloc members, in particular drew fire from the EU's heavyweight founding members France and Germany for siding

with Washington.

At the same time the United States has been wary of the moves by the EU to boost its own defence role, fearing it will tread on the toes of the Nato transatlantic military alliance.