Barroso and Solana in bid to boost EU-US relations

Commission President José Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will visit the US in early January, as diplomats talk of a turning point in EU-US relations.

Their visits will focus on attempts to restart multilateral world trade talks and on international efforts to address the worsening crisis in the Middle East.

Ahead of the visits, EU diplomats described 2007 as a potential watershed year in EU-US relations, with France and the UK preparing for a change of leadership. November’s mid-term elections in the US saw Congress come under the Democrats’ control.

Barroso will meet US President George W. Bush on 8 January to discuss restarting the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha round.

Although the trade talks collapsed in July, political attempts to return to the negotiating table have intensified in recent weeks. EU officials described as "positive" the recent efforts of Susan Schwab, the US trade representative, to move in that direction.

Schwab has taken on the task of convincing a more protectionist Congress to renew the administration’s trade negotiating mandate, which is essential for the US to negotiate any WTO deal. The current mandate will expire in June 2007.

EU officials hope that strong European backing could help the White House to convince Democrats to treat the issue in a non-partisan manner.

Separately, Javier Solana will visit Washington and New York on 3-9 January to discuss EU-US and United Nations co-operation on Afghanistan, Darfur, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, the Middle East peace process and Syria.

In Washington, he will meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Solana is expected to report on the possibility of sending an EU police mission to Afghanistan.

There is also hope that co-operation on Iraq can be stepped up following the publication of the Iraq Study Group’s report, which was released in December.

Many EU policymakers strongly support the group’s suggestions to intensify dialogue with Iran and Syria and step up efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Commission President José Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will visit the US in early January, as diplomats talk of a turning point in EU-US relations.