European Union Foreign Ministers will meet on Friday in Brussels to discuss the growing crisis in Iraq but also the situation in Ukraine.
The meeting was called by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
"Mrs Ashton is ready to convene a Foreign Affairs Council as early as this week and is checking with member states if it is possible," her spokesman said, following a meeting of EU ambassadors on Tuesday.
The envoys unanimously agreed on the need for urgent and increased humanitarian support.
France and Italy, the country currently chairing the EU rotating presidency, have been pushing for Ministers to gather in Brussels to discuss the role of the European Union in Iraq, including potentially supplying arms to the Kurds in the face of jihadist onslaught in northern Iraq.
But EU ambassadors failed to agree on an EU-coordinated plan to send weapons to the Kurdish military to aid their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Instead, they released a statement saying that individual member states were free to do so under set condition
France in particular announced it would start arms supplies to Iraqi Kurds so that they can help the Iraqi government fight against ISIS.
“In order to reply to the urgent needs expressed by the regional authorities of Kurdistan, the head of state (President Francois Hollande) decided, having agreed with Baghdad, to send arms in the coming hours,” a statement from the Elysee Palace said.
France reiterated its support to the Prime Minister-designate Haidar Abadi, and called on Baghdad to form a new inclusive government “representing all the Iraqi communities to fight efficiently against the Islamic State.”
France said it was also planning to “play an active role” in providing all the necessary assistance together with its partners to the new Iraqi authorities.
Earlier, Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani asked the international community to provide his country with weapons to fight ISIS.