EU Parliament calls for Wolfowitz to resign

STRASBOURG, France, Apr 25 (Reuters) The European Parliament on Wednesday called for the resignation of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, adding to pressure on the head of the lending organisation.

Wolfowitz, a former member of Bush's administration, already faces calls to step down following revelations he approved a high-paying promotion for his bank-employee girlfriend before she was assigned to work at the US State Department.

By 332 votes against 251, the European Union's legislature added a paragraph to a resolution on next week's EU-US summit, calling on Germany, current president of the 27-nation bloc, and the United States to ask Wolfowitz to stand down.

They should ''signal to the president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, that his withdrawal from the post would be a welcome step towards preventing the bank's anti-corruption policy from being undermined'', the paragraph said.

The overall resolution was later passed by parliament, the only branch of the EU directly elected by its citizens.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to meet President George W.

Bush in Washington on April 30.

Reuters RS GC2208