The leaders of France, Germany and Great Britain are meeting in Berlin on Saturday. Topping the agenda will be the future of Iraq and Europe's involvement in rebuilding the country.
 
British Prime Minister Tony Blair will travel to Berlin on Saturday for talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and French President Jacques Chirac.
 
"The meeting will serve to reach common ground on foreign policy after the differing views that arose before the Iraq war," according to the German government.
 
France and Germany strongly opposed the war on Iraq, while Great Britain stood staunchly on the side of U.S. President Bush and sent troops to Iraq.
 
In addition, Britain and France, both veto-wielding permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have opposing views on the U.N.'s future role in Iraq, now under British and U.S. occupation.
 
A U.N. resolution proposed by the U.S. earlier this month calling for a multinational force under U.S. command will be among those issues on the agenda this weekend.
 
In addition, the British prime minister is expected to seek support for changes his country has proposed to the draft EU constitutional treaty, due to be discussed at an inter-governmental conference next month.
 
"Sensible" meeting
 
According to Blair's spokesman, the summit was suggested by all three leaders, who had come to a "consensus" that a meeting at this time would be "sensible."
 
It will be a chance for a fairly wide-ranging discussion on economic matters and international affairs," he said. "This will be a chance to discuss not just Iraq but also other issues as well. There have been informal discussions, but it makes sense to continue those discussions now."
 
Paris has tried to dampen expectations that the talks will result in a new, common European position on Iraq. The Elysée Palace has said that the mini-summit will be about an exchange of opinions on European issues and that compromise on Iraq is not the first order of business.
 
Hurt feelings
 
While no one has officially complained, behind the scenes in Italy and Spain there have been expressions of dismay, saying they felt passed over and shut out from the summit. Spanish and Italian commentators have said there were good reasons to invite the leaders of the two countries, José María Aznar and Silvio Berlusconi, since Spain is one of the key European supporters of the U.S. policy in Iraq and Italy currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
 
Italian commentators complained that the lack of an invitation showed the eroding importance of Italy within Europe. In Spain, the newspapers said Aznar was being “punished” for his support of the U.S. line.
 
Aznar has isolated Spain from the partners that it most needs, wrote El Periódico de Catalunya . Spain’s voice has lost its importance, because Madrid submissively followed the demands of the U.S., the paper continued.

Though the prime ministers of Spain and Italy have played down the idea that their exclusion from Saturday’s Franco-German-British summit is a snub, leading newspapers in both countries say that’s exactly what it is.

Officially, there haven’t been any complaints. But behind the scenes, the decision not to invite the leaders of Spain and Italy to Saturday’s Iraq summit in Berlin has roiled the chattering classes in Madrid and Rome. Though the governments of the Mediterranean countries aren’t expressing it, observers say they feel left out.

At their meeting on Saturday, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair will seek to end the rift that has lasted for months between the countries on the Iraq question. That’s all well and good, but major newspapers in Spain and Italy have complained in editorials that the exclusion of Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is a form of punishment from German and France for those leaders' steadfast support of U.S. President George W. Bush's hawkishness.

Deliberately excluded?

Describing the snub as an "affront" to Spain, the influential El Mundo wrote that "it’s obvious the leaders of Germany and France have deliberately excluded" Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar. "More than any other European country Spain should have been at this meeting" because of its support for US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair and its role as a UN Security Council member, the paper wrote.
Madrid has already contributed €81.9 million to the U.S.-led war effort in Iraq, and the Defense Ministry estimates the country’s contributions to the reconstruction of Iraq could reach €170 million. "How long," the paper asked, "are Paris and Berlin going to punish Aznar for his pro-American stance?"

El Mundo also wrote that Aznar’s snub may also have been influenced by his recent criticism of France for failing to do more to reign in its deficit spending. Earlier this month, French officials admitted the country would exceed the 3 percent ceiling in deficit spending required by the Stability and Growth Pact that guarantees the strength of the euro for the third year in a row. Aznar’s criticisms also drew a rebuke from German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who reminded the Spaniards that their own economic growth has been fueled by EU subsidies – 25 percent of which are funded by Berlin.

Another major Spanish paper, El Periodico , opined that "Jose Maria Aznar is starting to pay for his unconditional support of President Bush’s warlike strategy. Chancellor Schröder has excluded him from the Berlin summit." The paper also noted that Aznar was unable to paper over his differences with France over the Iraq war at a recent meeting with Chirac.
And the country’s unofficial paper of record, El Pais , said the development showed Aznar "finds himself marginalized on major negotiations" over Iraq.

Criticism has also been strong in Italy, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. Rome’s La Repubblica opined this week that Berlusconi’s exclusion suggested that Italy was losing its diplomatic importance.

Playing down the tensions

Still, politicians in both countries have sought to play down the significance of their exclusion. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini characterized the Berlin meeting as an "informal meal," and Aznar has taken pains to point out that he will be meeting in London with Blair one day after the meeting and that he has discussed the Iraq resolution with both Chirac and Berlusconi.

"Not everybody is invited everywhere," Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio told reporters in Madrid. "It is a working meeting proposed by German so that France and the United Kingdom -- two key states in the construction of Europe -- can overcome certain positions that they have had at one time or another."

A spokesman for Tony Blair said on Tuesday that he valued his contacts with Aznar and other European leaders "as much as he valued his contacts with Chancellor Schröder and President Chirac." And a report in the British newspaper The Guardian suggested that Blair had argued unsuccessfully in favor of inviting Aznar to the meeting.

Meanwhile, German government spokesman Bela Anda also sought to play down the decision not to invite Italy or Spain to the informal meeting, saying the meeting was "not directed against anyone."

Additionally, the leaders of Germany, Britain and France have also contacted other EU member states to discuss the meeting, but have not extended invitations to any other countries.

International Breaking News

Court Allows Release of Kohl's Stasi File
A Berlin court ruled on Wednesday that former Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Stasi file could be released to researchers. It could contain revelations about his role in a slush fund scandal.  >>>

UNICEF: Two Kids Die from Abuse Weekly in Germany
Each week at least two children die from abuse and neglect in Germany, a UNICEF study revealed on Thursday.  >>>

Swedish Police Arrest Suspected Lindh Murderer
Swedish police have arrested a man believed to be the murderer of Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, who died from extensive knife wounds last week after being attacked in a Stockholm department store.  >>>

Pimptastic: Madam’s Trial in Paris is Largest in Years
The trial of a British woman accused of running a prostitution ring with 430 employees using a cell phone and laptop computers is heating up to be the most outrageous in years.  >>>

Berlin, Paris Push to Revive Struggling EU Economy
Paris and Berlin reinforced deepening ties Thursday with the unveiling of a proposal to kick-start the flagging EU economy, even as the two heavyweights came under renewed fire for breaching euro zone stability criteria.  >>>

Public Acceptance for Genetic Technology Raises Questions
With a DNA design shop, a Bremen project simulated the futue of gene technology and showed broad acceptance for the controversial issue. DW-WORLD spoke with the shop's organizer about the implications of such a response.  >>>

Good Genes, Bad Genes -- A Consumer Choice?
Want to design a baby or take a peek into your genetic future? Customers at a store in Bremen were more than willing to do so, and hardly anyone questioned the company's ethics, much to the dismay of the organizers.  >>>