Blair and Schroeder in call to unite against far-right

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and British premier Tony Blair tonight called for democratic forces across the Continent to stand together against a rising tide of rightest extremism they said posed a danger to stability in Europe.

During a one-hour meeting in Berlin the chancellor and Mr Blair discussed how best to counteract the surge to the right that has been seen in recent elections in France and the upcoming ballot in the Netherlands.

‘‘We agreed entirely on the need for democrats to stand together in solidarity against extremist policies of whatever kind,’’ Mr Blair said after the meeting.

‘‘The radical tendencies that we are seeing are problematic for the expansion and the integration of Europe and we must and we will fight against them,’’ said Schroeder.

Mr Blair also criticised the policies of the right, saying they ‘‘offer no real security, no real hope, no real answers to the kind of problems that people face’’.

Neither he nor Schroeder offered any concrete suggestions of how to fight the surge to the right.

Strategies to reach peace in the Middle East and secure stability for Afghanistan were also on the agenda during the meeting held at the German Chancellory in the heart of Berlin’s government district.

Both leaders called for a resume of discussions between Israel and the Palestinians, stressing the need to concentrate on political as well as security issues in the region.

Mr Blair also thanked Schroeder for Germany’s role in securing the peace in Afghanistan and said Turkey would take over leadership of the peace-keeping force from the British there later this year.