European Union (EU) foreign ministers are due to meet on Tuesday for an extraordinary session to assess the situation in Lebanon and prepare further EU action, particularly possible participation in an international force.

Tuesday's meeting was called by Finland, the current EU presidency country.

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, who will chair Tuesday's session, said in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Monday that the situation in the Middle East offered an opportunity for the EU to exert influence.

"We now are in a situation where the European Union is faced with great hopes and expectations, especially in Lebanon, but also more widely in the region. These expectations also arise from within the EU, such that this crisis is now a test for whether -- and how well -- the EU can act and exert influence," Tuomioja said.

"If the EU now is unable to act and to show leadership in this issue -- the leadership that it is now being offered -- we can say goodbye to EU power of influence for a long time," said Tuomioja after Finnish cabinet committees on EU affairs and foreign and security policy had discussed the issue.

Tuomioja will have to battle for a uniform EU position on Tuesday as member states are divided over whether to call for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, the militant group based in southern Lebanon.

Although the majority of EU member states are in favor of an immediate cease-fire, Britain's position is known to be close to that of the United States: a cease-fire must be sustainable.

Javier Solana, EU's common foreign policy and security chief, will give an assessment of the situation to Tuesday's session. Solana has been in contact with various players since the onset of the crisis.

Tuomioja and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU's external relations commissioner, will also report on their visit to the Middle East which followed last Wednesday's Rome international conference on Lebanon.

Solana, Tuomioja and Ferrero-Waldner attended the Rome conference, which failed to achieve an immediate cessation of hostilities owing to differences between the United States and its European and Arabian allies.

EU foreign ministers indeed have a lot to take stock of on Tuesday as a result of the quick evolution of the crisis in the wake of the Rome conference, particularly the Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Qana on Sunday, which killed around 60 civilians.

The UN Security Council is also expected to make a decision this week. Tuomioja said the EU, with five member states sitting in the current Security Council, could play a central role in the United Nations.

"Let us hope that the preconditions for a unanimous decision exist. I also hope that this foreign ministers' meeting will give a clear enough signal that would enable the Security Council to come to a decision on the matter," said Tuomioja on Monday.

High on the agenda of Tuesday's meeting will be the EU member states' readiness to participate in a proposed UN-led international force in southern Lebanon.

At the Rome conference, the EU expressed its readiness to play a substantive role in contributing to such a force. But readiness of certain member states remains to be seen.

It seems unlikely that EU countries will send troops to the region while the war continues.

The meeting will also assess the humanitarian situation in southern Lebanon, as well as in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. The ministers are expected to emphasize the need for international law and humanitarian work to be respected.