GERMANY:Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss forming a "transatlantic economic partnership" between the US and Europe when she meets President George Bush in Washington today
Germany, which assumed the presidencies of the EU and the G8 this week, is interested
in harmonising trade and financial market legislation between the two continents to boost mutual competitiveness, Dr Merkel said in an interview in the Financial Timesyesterday. "We must watch out that we do not drift apart, but instead come closer together where there are clear advantages for both sides," she said, citing the need for common rules on patents, stock market share offerings and protection of intellectual property.
"I think our economies can save a lot of money and effort . . . We face the same tough competition from Asian markets, and from Latin America in the future. We must join forces and co-operate."
Dr Merkel said the EU's experience of combining the Anglo-Saxon and continental European legal system could aid progress towards further integration. "This is why I think transatlantic co-operation will in fact be more straightforward in many areas than might appear at first glance," she said, suggesting that formal negotiations could commence during the EU-US summit in May.
Dr Merkel's hopes of an "ever-closer union" with the US were described as "nothing new" by European Commission officials in Brussels yesterday. One official pointed out that her proposals were already part of the framework of a commission economic initiative adopted in 2005.
Irish officials said yesterday they welcomed discussion of harmonising patent laws but would oppose any further integration that could lead to harmonising corporate tax through the back door.