The EU’s 27 foreign ministers were discussing prospects for peace following the Israeli elections and ahead of a Palestinian donors conference planned for Cairo next week.

"We can have a bit of a rough start, but we need to move ahead with the peace process," Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra told reporters.

Many European politicians are concerned that Netanyahu’s courting of small, hard-line parties to join his coalition could dampen efforts to put Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations back on track.

The foreign ministers want to ensure a new Israeli government sticks to previous commitments to set up an independent Palestinian state as part of a final peace deal. Netanyahu and smaller ultra-nationalist parties do not support the formation of a Palestinian state.

Franco Frattini, Italy’s foreign minister said, it was "not possible" for Netanyahu to ditch plans to give the Palestinians a separate state alongside Israel.

Netanyahu is trying to get centrist leader Tzipi Livni and Labor leader Ehud Barak to join him as partners in a broad and moderate coalition government. The Likud party leader has been given six weeks to try to form a ruling coalition after the Feb. 10 elections.

Livni supports the formation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, while Netanyahu has championed an "economic peace" with the Palestinians as an alternative and supported West Bank settlement expansion that has irked Palestinian leaders.