EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Europeans are facing a new dilemma on whether the EU defence structures should or should not rely on NATO. Over the past months, the EU has developed two opposite schools of thought.

One is the initiative of the four countries (France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg) that met last April in Brussels and proposed the creation of a "core of collective planning and operational capabilities" for the EU without using NATO assets and capabilities.

During their discussions in April, Belgium proposed building a European military command headquarters in Tervuren, east of Brussels.

This is a serious intention that could be put into practice as early as next year, the Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt recently told a meeting of ambassadors to his country. This could happen despite opposition from the United States and Britain.

The UK recently made available a paper entitled "Food for Thought" offering an different view. This was presented to the other countries during a meeting last week in Rome.

The British proposal puts NATO at the heart of European security, by proposing the set up of a European cell within the NATO command, in Mons, Belgium.

Both ways of thinking will be up for debate by the foreign ministers when meeting informally in Riva del Garda, Italy on Friday (5 September).

Belgian sources told the EUobserver that Belgium is not reluctant to the UK proposal - as long as it is considered as complementary with an autonomous command headquarters to be placed in Tervuren.

In Riva del Garda, the Belgian foreign minister, Louis Michel is also going to touch upon the upcoming Intergovernmental Conference issue, defending the initiative of the four member-states, as an example of enhanced co-operation in the field of defence.