Bush, the US European

Date: 31/10/01

SOME readers may be surprised by the inclusion of President Bush in the EV50 list of the Europeans of the Year.

It won't have passed unnoticed that he's not, in fact, a European. The precise reasons for his inclusion on the list by our independent jury will become clear in the fullness of time (European Voice is publishing a magazine to celebrate the EU 'Oscars'. Commercial over).

However there are a few hints in this issue of how 'Dubya' continues to have an impact on the EU agenda.

The revelation that he has asked Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt to intervene over a proposed EU data privacy law that could hinder the fight against terrorism may prove to be a watershed.

Elswehere, it's clear that Bush seems to be putting his unilateralist tendencies on hold. His Trade Representative Robert Zoellick has been working very closely with Commissioner Pascal Lamy in the run-up to the World Trade Organisation meeting taking place in Doha next week.

And, of course, Bush has been keen to stress the importance of EU support in the war against the Taliban. Most obviously, this has come from the UK - although reports that its elite SAS regiment is on the ground in Afghanistan with America's Green Berets may be wide of the mark. (Our top-level military contacts suggest the SAS is still waiting at its base in Hereford for orders to move.)

• Eagle-eyed readers cannot fail to notice the abundance of Kinnock-related articles in this week's issue. After weeks of drought in terms of news from the Commission Vice-President's office, there's now a flood of stories (almost all of which shed the Welshman in a good light).

Unkind souls might suggest that this 'Kinnockopia' is timed to coincide with the publication of a new authorised biography of him. We wouldn't dream of making such a connection.

Comment on the inclusion of President Bush in the EV50 list of the Europeans of the Year.