ELSINORE, Denmark, August 31 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The European Union sought Saturday to maintain a united front in a row with the United States over a new criminal court, but clear tensions remained and ministers said discussions would continue.

The International Criminal Court (ICC), which Washington fiercely opposes, has fueled growing tensions in recent weeks after the U.S. State Department offered to sign bilateral accords granting immunity for its nationals. The U.S. has remained adamant that U.S. citizens should not be tried in the ICC, a stance supported by Israel, which is seeking similar immunity provisions for Israeli citizens.

Some members of the 15-member E.U. has hoped that an informal meeting in Denmark this weekend would enable them to forge a consensus banning such bilateral accords, and obliging Washington to deal with the E.U. as a whole.

But it was not to be, and they have now agreed to let E.U. lawyers study the issue further over the coming weeks, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"Some countries are ready to negotiate. Others are not. In public, the only two countries which have expressed a different position are Italy and the United Kingdom," said one European diplomat.

“[Italian Prime Minister Silvio] Berlusconi is trying to position himself as the best friend of the Americans, along with the British," said a diplomat source in the sidelines of informal talks between EU foreign ministers in Elsinore, Denmark.

The row centers on the newly-created Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), vehemently opposed by Washington, which fears its nationals could be subject to politically-motivated prosecutions under its jurisdiction.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote to individual E.U. states earlier in August asking them to sign bilateral agreements granting immunity for U.S. nationals on their territories.

But the European Commission, and several member states, have pressed the E.U. to forge a common front on the issue, rather than allowing Washington to divide them with bilateral accords.

Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner spoke out openly Saturday about the need for a common position.

"There is a fundamental need for everyone to be open to prosecution," she told reporters. "It is important that there is no immunity," she added.

Diplomats from other member states also expressed disappointment. "Nothing must be done which could weaken the court," said one, adding that the fiercest opponents to such accords were France, Germany, Austria and Sweden.

Berlusconi confirmed Italy's readiness to negotiate with the U.S. "We are oriented to go to the signature of an agreement," he said on his arrival in Elsinore.

"We are not linked with E.U. positions... every country that signed the ICC statute did it for itself," he said.

British Foreign Minister Jack Straw was more circumspect, refusing to be drawn in when asked whether London could sign a bilateral agreement with Washington.

"We agreed that our lawyers and each of the member states would continue their consultations... about whether you can achieve a common position," he told reporters.

Experts from the European Commission, the E.U.'s executive arm, are to discuss the legal aspects of the situation next week in Brussels, officials said.