Limited Hopes At US-EU Summit

Despite this, the relationship between Europe and the US appears to be in pretty good shape. "The evidence of improvement in the relationship," says one European diplomat, "is that people don't talk about it anymore." German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who currently holds the EU presidency, has made the transatlantic relationship a priority. It is a vigorous rejection of the policy of her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, who appeared to delight in thumbing his nose at the US and cosying up instead to Russia. "Without the US," says another European diplomat, "there can't be any success in coping with a globalised world." This, say the Germans, is why Chancellor Merkel has embarked on an intensive effort to build an economic bridge to the US. Before, during and in the immediate aftermath of the Iraq war, the relationship between Europe and the US sunk to a previously unknown low. Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6607103.stm [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on May 2, 2007]

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