LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair called again on Wednesday for NATO partners to provide more troops in Afghanistan and said the matter would be discussed at this week's European Council meeting. "We have got to press for the additional battle group from elsewhere, we're continuing to do that," Blair told parliament. "I want more to be done by other NATO countries. This will be part of the discussion informally at the European summit." European Union leaders meet on Thursday and Friday in Brussels. Britain announced last month it would send an extra 1,400 troops to Afghanistan because most NATO allies have refused to send more soldiers, or agree to deploy existing units to tackle a resurgent Taliban in its southern and eastern strongholds. British forces there will increase from 5,500 to about 7,700 this year. A battle group amounts to about 800 troops. NATO, the United States and the Taliban are all promising spring offensives in what is widely regarded as a crunch year for Afghanistan, a country still in crisis more than five years after the Taliban's fall. "The additional contribution we're making ... (is) immensely important," Blair said, adding the performance of British soldiers in increasingly bloody battles was "an extraordinary story of heroism and courage". He added: "Some countries have lifted caveats, others haven't, and we continue to press them the entire time to do so. ... We are sure that in the end we will be able to get the support that we need."
