BRUSSELS, September 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Defusing a trans-Atlantic spat, the European Union proposed Monday, September 30, a face-saving deal to give U.S. troops limited immunity from the new International Criminal Court (ICC), which Washington is boycotting.

E.U. Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels hammered out a deal that allows individual E.U. states to agree bilateral immunity accords with Washington over the ICC, provided strict conditions are met, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller, representing the E.U. presidency, denied that Europe was jeopardizing the U.N. court before it even prosecutes anyone for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.

"There's no concession, there's no undermining of the spirit of the ICC," Moeller told reporters.

"What's happening here, if the United States accepts our proposals, is that the number of countries who respect the idea of the ICC - that no one should go out as a free man after committing atrocities, that there should be no impunity - covers now more countries than before this decision by the European Union," he said.

"No impunity is the important thing. That's not a concession."

However, Richard Dicker, a spokesman for the New York-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW), disagreed.

"It falls far short of any meaningful response by the E.U. and suggests a retreat by the E.U. from its strong common position for the ICC," he told AFP.

"We are looking to parliaments that will have to approve any agreements to carefully scrutinize agreements that their governments sign to make sure that those agreements are consistent with the principles of the ICC," he said.

Moeller said bilateral deals between E.U. members and the United States would only be allowed if certain "red lines" setting conditions for immunity were respected.

These conditions included that anyone suspected of grave crimes should be prosecuted by U.S. authorities; that only soldiers and diplomats would enjoy this limited immunity; and that E.U. nationals would not enjoy any immunity.

“If individual states stay within these red lines in their bilateral context with the United States, the court will not be undermined," the Foreign Minister said.

Washington refused to support the permanent tribunal, arguing it could allegedly become a forum for politically motivated prosecutions against U.S. soldiers.

U.S. President George W. Bush said he wanted "all countries" to sign bilateral deals that would exempt U.S. peacekeepers on their territory from the court's jurisdiction.

The E.U. pledged to keep a common front, but Britain and Italy cracked the veneer of unity by appearing favorable to their own agreements with Washington.

Moeller said the E.U. still wanted to get U.S. support for the ICC.

"Our aim is to re-engage the United States in the work of the court," he said, while refusing to be drawn on whether the E.U. compromise offer would satisfy the United States.

The Minister denied the agreement would set a bad precedent for countries accused of committing atrocities, such as Russia in Chechnya.

"Don't forget that the ICC is subsidiary. That means it only works if a national state does not bring a criminal to court, if it gives him impunity. Then the ICC comes into the picture, not before."

Before the compromise was unveiled, Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said the E.U.'s credibility was at stake, arguing that attempts to hammer out a common foreign policy would never progress without agreement on touchstone issues such as the ICC.