AUSTRIA: US president George Bush will meet EU leaders in Vienna today to discuss transatlantic co-operation in areas such as energy, economics and security.
The fate of the US detention centre at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and a simmering dispute over US visa restrictions on some EU citizens will also be discussed.
European Commission president José Manuel Barroso has confirmed that he will raise the thorny issue of visa reciprocity with President Bush at the EU-US summit.
Currently US citizens can travel throughout the 25 EU states without obtaining a visa, while the US imposes restrictions on nationals from 10 EU states.
Citizens of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Greece, Malta and Cyprus must obtain a visa before travelling to the US.
EU diplomats say that Mr Barroso is frustrated by the refusal of the US to lift the restrictions following positive signals on the issue given by Mr Bush last year on a trip to Slovakia.
The commission has raised the prospect of retaliation in a letter sent to US secretary of state Dr Condoleezza Rice by EU justice commissioner Franco Frattini and external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
It is understood that the commission may force US diplomatic personnel travelling to Europe to apply for visas, although this would not affect Ireland and Britain as they are outside the Schengen zone.
The EU, which will be represented at the meeting by Mr Barroso, Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, is also expected to call for the closure of Guantánamo Bay detention centre in Cuba.
Last week Austrian foreign minister Ursula Plassnik said that nobody should be placed in a position where there is a legal vacuum with no legal rules.
"Human rights must be respected," she added in a reference to the detention centre, which houses 450 inmates that the US has classified as illegal combatants and detained without trial.
Several EU governments have already called for the closure of Guantánamo. However, it is unlikely that the issue of rendition flights in Europe will be discussed.
Relations between the EU and US have warmed considerably in recent years and both sides will try to focus on areas of close co-operation such as Iran.
President Bush plans to stress that the US and Europe must stand firm in pressing Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program in order to qualify for an incentives package aimed at containing Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
A package of incentives was offered to Iran early this month, and the US has said it will join European talks with Iran if it agrees to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.
Meanwhile, the EU and US will sign a new co-operation agreement on third-level education, discuss ongoing talks aimed at creating an open skies agreement for the airline industry and sign an anti-piracy agreement designed to boost intellectual property protection.