03/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - France and the United Kingdom are to hold, on 4 February in Le Touquet, the summit which was scheduled for 3 December last but which had been postponed (the European Council of Brussels, in October, had caused friction between Paris and London on the subject of CAP and budgetary compensation for the United Kingdom). The meeting between President Chirac and Tony Blair, and their ministers, should mainly focus on defence policy. British Minister for European Affairs Denis McShane recently told AFP on this subject that Le Touquet must contribute to implementing the Saint-Malo decisions. In Saint Malo, during the December 1998 Summit, Paris and London had reactivated the Defence Europe. The Franco-British summit will also provide an opportunity to clarify the common message of solidarity with the United States in the Iraqi affair launched through the press by eight European leaders, including Tony Blair, without informing the other EU partners (see EUROPE of 1 February, p.3).