US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell said yesterday that demonstrations against President Bush during his visit to Ireland in June would not ruin the summit meeting between the United States and the European Union, writes Conor O'Clery in Washington.
Mr Powell was speaking after a meeting in Washington with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, representing the EU presidency, and other EU officials, to set the agenda for the summit.
The summit will focus on improving EU-US relations, which Mr Cowen said were in "good shape" and Mr Powell went out of his way to highlight US-France co-operation over Haiti.
The agenda will also include a controversial demand by the US for airline passenger information, a "Greater Middle East strategy" involving more dialogue with the Arab world, and co-ordination of programmes to combat HIV/AIDS worldwide.
Mr Bush will arrive in Ireland on the evening of Friday June 25th and hold talks with EU leaders on June 26th at a location yet to be decided. The US side has been given a number of suggested sites by Dublin and security will be a deciding factor.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, urged last week that the summit should not be disrupted by protests over Iraq. Asked about the prospect of protests, Mr Powell said, "The President is very much looking forward to his trip and we understand in a democratic society protests occur," but such demonstrations would "not ruin the meeting or the event."
The summit is likely to announce agreement to controversial US demands that European countries require their airlines to provide personal details of passengers flying to the United States, it has been learned.
Negotiations with the US are continuing but the principle of providing America with passenger list data has been agreed and EU airlines which fail to comply will be refused permission to fly to the United States, an EU official said. The EU is seeking the "most protection possible" for such private information. After yesterday's meeting, which was also attended by the EU foreign policy officials Mr Javier Solana and Mr Chris Patten, Mr Powell praised the "excellent co-operation" of Ireland during its EU presidency.
Mr Cowen said that the stalled Middle East peace process was a cause of concern and the subject of a "frank exchange of views". He pressed for an early meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mr Ahmed Korei.
Asked at the press conference if this meant the EU was bypassing Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat, Mr Cowen replied "No, we haven't" but it was important to advance with "concrete and viable steps".
On Mr Sharon's disengagement plan from Gaza, the EU pressed Mr Powell to insist on five conditions, officials said. These were that a withdrawal be in the context of the road map for peace, that there should not be a scorched earth policy in abandoned settlements, that the process be orderly, that settlers not be transferred to the West Bank and that it should be part of a two-state solution.
Overshadowing yesterday's meeting was a new trade crisis, with the World Trade Organisation imposing sanction on US exports - from roller skates to jewellery - at the EU's request because Congress has failed to end illegal tax breaks in offshore havens for US companies. Mr Patten said that following discussions with members of Congress "in the next few weeks we will be able to put this issue behind us."