New Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair is scheduled to hold talks with European Union officials Tuesday amid renewed international efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana announced he would fly to the region immediately after his lunch with Blair. On Monday, U.S. President George W. Bush called for an international conference late this year to include Israel, the Palestinian Authority and some of their Arab neighbors to help restart peace talks. On Solana's trip to the region, he will hold talks with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. On Thursday, he plans to travel to Portugal for a meeting of senior officials from the EU, United Nations, Russia and United States _ the powers that make up the Quartet of would-be Middle East peacemakers. «We are going into a very critical and decisive phase there,» said Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency. Amado told a panel of the European Parliament that he hoped the Lisbon meeting would «give a new boost to the peace process.» Blair took over as chief envoy for the Quartet after he stepped down as British prime minister last month. --MORE
