No climate consensus at U.S.-EU summit
Pastor Dale Morgan
Friday April 27, 1:13 AM Reuters
*No climate consensus at U.S.-EU summit*
By Noah Barkin
BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union and United States will pledge at a
summit next week to remove costly non-tariff business barriers, but
steer clear of a strong message on climate change amid resistance from
Washington.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has worked hard to improve
transatlantic ties following a damaging split over the Iraq war, will
meet U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington on Monday -- her fourth
visit since taking office and first since assuming the rotating
presidency of the EU.
The centrepiece of the meeting will be a "Transatlantic Economic
Partnership" agreement to harmonise regulatory standards and boost
cooperation in areas from intellectual property and port security to
investment and accounting.
Merkel has championed the agreement for its economic benefits. She also
hopes to send a message to rising powers like China about Europe and
Washington's determination to promote their common values and rules in a
globalised world.
But the summit, which will touch on top international issues like Iran's
nuclear programme, Middle East peace and Kosovo independence, also risks
exposing deep differences between the partners on the issue of global
warming.
German officials said on Thursday the two sides were still wrangling
over the wording of a statement on climate change, which Merkel had
hoped would be a springboard for a broader climate deal at a June G8
summit she will host in Heiligendamm.
Instead, the watered-down statement is expected only to acknowledge the
need for "heightened" or "strengthened" action to fight global warming
without any specific pledges.
"The willingness of the United States to discuss this issue at all is
positive," one senior German official said, describing the EU-U.S.
meeting as a "first step" on the road to the Heiligendamm summit, which
is now only six weeks away.
In the absence of a strong climate statement, U.S. and EU officials are
keen to focus on the economic partnership deal, which they estimated
will generate major savings for their countries. Together, the U.S. and
EU generate 60 percent of world growth and represent 40 percent of
global trade.
The partners will set up a council run jointly by EU Industry
Commissioner Guenter Verheugen and a top White House official --
possibly National Economic Council director Al Hubbard -- to push the
deal forwards and issue progress reports.
Regulatory cooperation will focus on sectors like the automotive
industry, medical services and pharmaceuticals, investment, trade
security and intellectual property rights.
Harmonising technical requirements for cars, for example, could save
automakers 5-7 percent on the cost of each car they produce, German
officials said. The partners will also sign an "open skies" aviation
deal and the EU will push Washington to extend a visa waiver programme
to all of its member states.
However, the partners are not expected to set firm deadlines for many of
the goals they set out.
"This summit is a big show. What really counts is what happens after
they all go home," said Jackson Janes, director of the American
Institute for Contemporary German Studies.
Alongside Merkel, European Commission President Jose-Manuel Barroso and
senior Brussels and Berlin officials will attend.
A top Merkel adviser said she was unlikely to discuss World Bank
President Paul Wolfowitz with Bush as pressure mounts on the head of the
poverty-fighting institution to resign over news he approved a big pay
raise for his bank-employee girlfriend.
"We won't pour more fuel on that fire," the adviser said.