Trip to Europe will expose US leader to anti-American street protests
When US President George W. Bush travels to Europe this weekend he will be greeted by EU leaders eager to heal the transatlantic rift caused by the war in Iraq. But he will also encounter demands to revamp the Nato alliance, and massive anti-American street protests.
Extremely unpopular in Europe, Mr Bush chose the European Union for his first trip abroad in his second term with the aim of making a fresh start with some of the most vociferous opponents of the US-led war in Iraq.
Besides attending EU and Nato summit talks in Brussels, Mr Bush will also meet individually with the leaders of France, Germany and Russia during a whirlwind four-day tour starting on Monday. Many observers consider the European trip a symbolic gesture that Washington is now prepared to reach out to some of Mr Bush's toughest foreign policy critics.
'The mission is to make nice with Old Europe,' said Jeffery Gedmin, director of the Berlin office of US transatlantic think-tank the Aspen Institute. 'And the president wins points in Europe for going to Brussels. It means he takes the EU seriously as a partner.'
Although Mr Bush will not travel to France, he has agreed to a working dinner with French President Jacques Chirac in Brussels on the eve of his talks with EU officials. He will then travel to the southwestern German city of Mainz for a summit with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Mr Bush's last stop will take him to the Slovakian capital Bratislava, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After a few rocky years marked by confrontation and discord, officials on both sides of the Atlantic have been at pains to appear conciliatory in recent months. The new US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, poured on the charm in Europe as she paved the way for Mr Bush's visit earlier this month.
