A total of 68 percent of the European Union's (EU) citizens believe that the military intervention in Iraq this year was not justified, a poll result showed.

The final result of the poll, conducted by EOS Gallup Europe upon the request of the European Commission, the EU's executive, was released in Brussels Monday.

With 7,515 citizens interviewed in October, the poll showed that 41 percent of the EU respondents confirmed their belief that the war was "not justified at all".

Greece is on the top of the list of 15 EU countries, with 96 percent citizens against the war, followed by Austria with 86 percent.

On the question of who should manage the rebuilding of Iraq, 58percent EU citizens prefer the United Nations. Only 18 percent of respondents choose the United States.

Based on this result, 65 percent of the EU citizens say that the United States should pay for the costs it incurred as a result of the war and provide the bulk of the funding needed for Iraq reconstruction.

Even 53 percent of the people in the EU view the United States as a threat to the world peace. In the four EU member states of Greece, Spain, Finland and Sweden, the United States is deemed as the greatest threat to world peace.

Although EU officials explained at the midday news briefing Monday that the poll result does not represent the bloc's viewpoint, some media reports take this as a true picture of the public opinion on the issue.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2003)