Schroeder won't shy from disputes in Bush talks
Date: 28-Mar-01
Country: GERMANY
Author: Emma Thomasson
Aides say they hope the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders will create a chance to build a personal rapport and help resolve transatlantic differences which Schroeder drew attention to early this year.
Even as the new Republican president prepared to take office in January, Germany's Social Democrat chancellor said that despite their warm relations, Berlin and Washington should not try to conceal disagreements in key areas.
Difficulties highlighted by Schroeder included trade disputes and climate protection as well as Washington's plans for a missile defence system which have upset Russia, Berlin's other main partner outside the European Union.
A senior government official said Berlin also had an interest in limiting the fallout from the biggest spy scandal since the Cold War after Moscow and Washington ordered the withdrawal of 50 diplomats each.
One German diplomat said Schroeder, due to travel to Russia on April 9, would be keen to stress his belief in the importance of relations with Moscow in the face of an apparent shift by the Bush administration towards Asian, rather than European ties.
While Germany wants Washington to take Russia's opposition to missile defence seriously, Berlin's resistance has softened - it says if Washington is determined to proceed then it wants a stake in the technological advances and economic benefits.
The government official said Berlin welcomed the fact that Washington was no longer talking about a purely national missile defence but one that should also protect its allies.
EUROPEAN DEFENCE NO THREAT TO NATO
The official said Germany welcomed Bush's comments, following last month's talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, that he was happy with EU plans for closer defence cooperation.
He said Schroeder would seek to counter fears among some in Washington that the initiative could undermine NATO.
The recent violence in Macedonia, which would also be on the agenda for Thursday, showed the need for the United States to remain engaged in Europe and should not be seen as an opportunity for a test of the fledgling European defence policy.
"These developments are too precarious and dangerous for one of the parties to turn away," the official said.
While Schroeder and Bush are likely to find common ground over the uprising of ethnic Albanian guerrillas in Macedonia, other issues during the talks will be more thorny.
Schroeder will reiterate the line he took in a letter to Bush last week that Europe wants Washington to abide by the 1997 Kyoto accord to cut emissions of "greenhouse gases" blamed for global warming, even though commentators in Germany predict it will fall on deaf ears given the current U.S. energy crisis.
Germany is hosting a new U.N.-backed bid in Bonn in July to discuss how to implement the Kyoto protocol.
Another sticking point in the talks is likely to be transatlantic trade disputes over bananas and hormone-treated beef, which has been banned by the EU since 1989 but is common in America.
Other issues on the packed agenda include the Middle East, the financial crisis in Turkey and Berlin's drive to get U.S. courts to drop lawsuits against German firms over their Nazi-era use of slave labour so that payments to elderly survivors from a huge compensation fund can begin.
