Brussels - Lufthansa is to take over Belgium's airline, Brussels Airlines, the two carriers said Monday in Brussels, just over two weeks after confirming they were in merger talks.

In a first step, the big German airline is to pay 65 million euros to acquire 45 per cent of Brussels Airlines from SN Holding. Lufthansa can acquire the rest in 2011.

Lufthansa had earlier confirmed it was in takeover talks.

Brussels - European Union diplomats on Monday said that a peace conference on the Georgian crisis, initially scheduled for October 15, would probably have to be moved.

"The date will certainly be moved. It will be moved some days before or after - more likely after," said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, noting that an EU summit had already been planned for the same day.

Last week French President Nicolas Sarkozy, acting as the current chairman of the EU's rotating presidency, agreed with his Russian and Georgian counterparts that the EU would chair "international talks on the modalities of security and stability in Abkhazia and South Ossetia", with the talks due to begin in Geneva on October 15.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday approved sending ceasefire observers to Russian-occupied parts of Georgia, but crucial questions about the mission's mandate remained.

Ministers meeting in Brussels also named French diplomat Pierre Morel as the EU's special representative to Georgia. His first task will be to set up and host international talks on the crisis, which are expected to open in Geneva by the end of next month.

EU diplomats said at least 20 member states had agreed to provide between 200 and 250 civilian observers to "buffer zones" along Georgia's internal borders with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia before October 1.

Brussels- The European Union is considering the launch of a naval operation in Somalia to protect European vessels from pirate attacks in the region, the bloc's foreign ministers said Monday.

EU ministers meeting in Brussels said they had approved "a strategic military option for a possible European Union naval operation."

The move comes just days after a French tuna fishing boat was attacked by Somali pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

The vessel, crewed by mostly French and Spanish fishermen, managed to escape and fled to the Seychelles, the ship's captain said.

Brussels - The European Commission is ready to provide "up to 500 million euros" (714 million dollars) in additional aid to Georgia to help it recover from the war with Russia, EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Monday.

The European Union executive hopes that its proposal of a Stabilization and Growth Package for Georgia will be approved by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday.

The additional money comes on top of the roughly 100 million euros already being planned for Georgia this year, and it will add to any bilateral aid being provided by the EU's individual member states.

Brussels - The European Union is ready to replace Russian troops in Georgia with its own civilian observers within the next two weeks, Javier Solana, the bloc's foreign policy chief, said Monday.

But on the controversial issue of whether the planned 200-strong EU mission will also be deployed in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Solana said a decision would only be made at a later stage.

"The first commitment is to deploy the 200 observers before October 1. It will be done in time ... After that, we will see how the situation evolves," Solana said ahead of talks by EU foreign ministers in Brussels.