(BRUSSELS) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday urged all sides in Lebanon to grab a "last chance" next week to finally elect a president after a series of postponements.

"Monday is really the last chance, and France calls on all parties, inside and outside, to ensure that Lebanon can have a president," he told reporters after an EU summit in Brussels.

"Those (who) would take the risk of killing off that chance would cut themselves off from a number of countries, first among them France," Sarkozy warned.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since November 23 when incumbent Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term, with rival political parties unable to agree on a successor.

A parliamentary session is due to be held Monday to elect a president but it is widely believed it will be postponed, as has happened on eight previous occasions since September.

The recent car bomb killing of a senior army commander, whose funeral was held Friday, further destabilised the country.

In conclusions from their summit, European leaders said that the EU "is greatly concerned about the situation in Lebanon. It considers that the delay in electing the president of the republic is fraught with danger."

They said the EU "joins the United Nations secretary general in attempting to convince all parties concerned to endeavour to respect the Lebanese constitutional process."

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