Relations with US to dominate EU Athens summit

THE US and its concerns worldwide will be a major focus for the EU summit that begins in Greece tomorrow and is likely to dominate the three-day meeting.

This will be the first time the leaders of the 25 current and electivemember states sit around the same table at a summit.

It is also the last summit to be held outside Brussels. Up to now the quarterlymeetings were held in the member state holding the six-month rotating presidency.

The heads of state will discuss the draft constitution for an enlarged and streamlined EUThe fact that the EU-US summit takes place in Washington next week would normally tend to focus attention on the transatlantic relationship.

But with the growing realisation that the US has Iran in its sights, Europe's leaders are desperately trying to ensure there is no repeat of the debacle over the war in Iraq.

The emphasis appears to be on taking seriously the US concerns about Iranian nuclear activities and putting pressure on Iran to allow more detailed inspections of what it says is purely nuclear energy plants.

The EU, despite US objections, began negotiating with Iran last year on a trade co-operation agreement and on a political agreement that included civil rights issues. At Iranian insistence it was agreed that one would not be linked to the other.

However, the foreign ministers moved decisively away from this position earlier this week when Commissioner Chris Patten baldly stated they would not set a date for further negotiations if the Iranians did not agree to more intrusive inspections.

The EU-US relationship is riddled with fault-lines including the Mideast and Iraq and the EU is desperately trying to maintain the peace road-map.

However, all the problems are not from the US as was illustrated in recent days when Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi made a blatantly anti-Palestinian statement.

It has the potential to jettison years of patient work by the EU.

Many believe Mr Berlusconi's main interest was in wining praise from the US and Israelto earn Italyreconstruction contractsin Iraq.

The move to the right in many EU countries and the tightening up on security post-September 11 many at the behest of the US have produced a range of measures that come before the meeting finishing on Saturday.

The EU leaders are also coming close to taking some decisions on how best to protect Europe's borders.

Valery Giscard d'Estaing will present the draft of his constitution tomorrow morning following 16 months work by the 105 Convention members.