19/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Union hopes that the Quartet for the Middle East will adopt the roadmap for peace at its meeting in Washington on 20 December, declared Council President Per Stig Moeller on Tuesday. Ministers condemned the worsening of the violence "that threatens to further widen the gap that separates Israelis from Palestinians", he declared. The Council did not approve conclusions on the situation in the Middle East.