Brussels (AINA) -- The Assyrian national federations of Germany, Belgium, Sweden, France and Holland were invited on November 21 to the European Union in Brussels for talks on the future of Assyrians in Iraq. The meeting took place behind closed doors in the European External Action Service unit of the Commission, which is the executive branch of the EU.

The meeting, the first of its kind to be held with the Assyrian national federations in Europe, signified the EU's increased interest in the situation of minorities in Iraq. The Assyrian federations have been active in lobbying their respective governments to direct attention to the plight of minorities in Iraq, and are now actively pursuing the executive and legislative branches of the European Union as well. The EU has so far not shown any real interest in the situation of Iraq's minorities.

More than half million Assyrians live in the European Union with the two largest communities in Germany and Sweden.