Brussels, 30/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Union and the United States are holding their 14th Summit in Queluz (Portugal) on Wednesday 31 May, with the participation of Presidents Bill Clinton, Romano Prodi and Antonio Guterrez. The meeting of the presidents will be preceded by ministerial meetings on the new economy, Russia, the Balkans, the Middle East and trade conflicts that are currently headlines in transatlantic relations, with the participation of Madeleine Albright, Chris Patten, Jaime Gama and Javier Solana, responsible for Cfsp for the "foreign policy" part, and Charlene Barshefsky, Pascal Lamy and Joaquim Pina Moura for the trade part.
After the summit there will be a consultative forum on biotechnology bringing together business circles, academia and government representatives for a single goal - studying this thorny issue and to avoid another trade dispute. Are expected, joint declarations, notably to seal the agreement of principle on the protection of private data and possibly to provide further impetus to trade negotiations that were unable to take get off the ground in Seattle.
The ministerial sessions will begin Wednesday morning at 8.30. The session of the presidents ("Leaders session") will be held from 11.00 to 13.30 hrs., and be followed by a meeting with the representatives of the transatlantic dialogue on business and the environment. This last European tour for Bill Clinton will enable him to "square the circle", "registering progress made since 1994 and continuing to elaborate his vision of a pacified, united and democratic Europe", with special stress on the "unfinished business" (integration of South East Europe, modernisation and democratisation in Russia), while confirming "the strength of the transatlantic relationship", stressed a source close to the White House. It will then take him to Germany (where he will meet Mr. Rau, Schroeder and Ehud Barak, the Head of the Israeli Government), to Russia (Mr. Putin) and Ukraine (Mr. Kuchma).
For the detailed programme of the Summit, see other article, page 9..