Berlin - The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, and President Jacques Chirac of France will meet next month for an "exchange of views" about the outcome of the EU summit in Nice, writes Derek Scally. The talks will take place at an as yet unspecified date and location and come at the suggestion of President Chirac, a government spokesman in Berlin said yesterday.
"The talks will be about the results of the Nice summit and the further reform process in the European Union," the German government spokesman said. The meeting "underlines the significance of the Franco-German dialogue, which has priority and is one of the most important elements of German foreign policy," the spokesman added.
Mr Schroder reportedly told his cabinet on Wednesday that the time had come for a "rearrangement of the FrancoGerman relationship" in the new century.