EU/CHINA: The Commission President, Mr José Manuel Barroso, has told the US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, the EU will lift its arms embargo on China, despite Washington's objections.
After meeting Dr Rice in Brussels yesterday, Mr Barroso said the EU had taken US concerns into account in considering the future of the embargo, imposed after the massacre of student protesters at Tiananmen Square in 1989.
"The European Union is moving to lift the arms embargo. The European Union cannot be accused of rushing into this," Mr Barroso said.
Dr Rice restated Washington's opposition to the EU move but hinted that the US has given up trying to stop it.
"We've made clear our concerns about the military balance, the fact that there are still American forces in that region. All we can ask is that the European Union is aware of our concerns, understands them fully and takes them fully into consideration," she said.
During her visits to NATO and the European Commission, Dr Rice played down disagreements between the US and Europe, reminding her audience at the Commission that Washington had promoted European integration in the aftermath of the second World War.
She suggested the transatlantic tensions that accompanied the US-led invasion of Iraq had given way to a spirit of co-operation, particularly in Afghanistan, regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions and in support of the Middle East peace process.
"The times are different now than they were a year or two ago. I don't think we had a common agenda, at least in regard to Iraq. We do now have a common agenda," she said.
Dr Rice stressed US support for the European diplomatic initiative aimed at persuading Iran to extend a moratorium on activities that could lead to the development of a nuclear weapons capability.
"We've set no deadline, no timeline. We believe a diplomatic solution is in our grasp," Dr Rice said.
Mr Barroso said President Bush's visit to Brussels later this month created an opportunity to reaffirm the ties that bind Europe and the US.
"This visit will symbolise the strong and enduring bonds of transatlantic co-operation, that are stronger by far than any differences that may have existed between us. More than ever, Europe needs the United States and the United States needs Europe. We must seize this opportunity with both hands. Today's international problems are too complex to go it alone," he said.