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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Blair and Merkel meet before G8 | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Prime Minister Tony Blair has made a flying visit to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of this week's G8 summit. | |
| Mr Blair wants to discuss Africa aid and climate change before G8 leaders gather in Heiligendamm, northern Germany, on Wednesday. | Mr Blair wants to discuss Africa aid and climate change before G8 leaders gather in Heiligendamm, northern Germany, on Wednesday. |
| Reports suggest Mrs Merkel may also warn Mr Blair she wants to revive the stalled European constitution. | Reports suggest Mrs Merkel may also warn Mr Blair she wants to revive the stalled European constitution. |
| She will push ahead with the plan at an EU summit in Brussels on 21 June. | She will push ahead with the plan at an EU summit in Brussels on 21 June. |
| The German chancellor has put climate change and Africa at the top of the agenda for her presidency of the G8, as Mr Blair did in 2005 at Gleneagles, in Scotland. | The German chancellor has put climate change and Africa at the top of the agenda for her presidency of the G8, as Mr Blair did in 2005 at Gleneagles, in Scotland. |
| The G8 nations - Britain, the US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia - are under pressure to make good on promises made at Gleneagles to double aid and write off debts. | The G8 nations - Britain, the US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia - are under pressure to make good on promises made at Gleneagles to double aid and write off debts. |
| Bush proposals | Bush proposals |
| They are expected confirm their intention to implement pledges made at 2005's Gleneagles summit for an extra $50bn in annual aid by 2010. | They are expected confirm their intention to implement pledges made at 2005's Gleneagles summit for an extra $50bn in annual aid by 2010. |
| We will wrestle with climate change until the very last minute Angela Merkel, German Chancellor US opposes German plan | We will wrestle with climate change until the very last minute Angela Merkel, German Chancellor US opposes German plan |
| Mr Blair wants a framework to be drawn up with the "plus five" states - China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico - for action to tackle global warming, to replace the Kyoto targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which expire in 2013. | Mr Blair wants a framework to be drawn up with the "plus five" states - China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico - for action to tackle global warming, to replace the Kyoto targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which expire in 2013. |
| Germany wants all G8 members to agree timetables and targets for major cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. | Germany wants all G8 members to agree timetables and targets for major cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. |
| But the US appears to have rejected Germany's draft proposals, according to leaked documents. | But the US appears to have rejected Germany's draft proposals, according to leaked documents. |
| US President George W Bush has also announced his own climate strategy raising the prospect of a showdown with the European nations at the G8 summit. | US President George W Bush has also announced his own climate strategy raising the prospect of a showdown with the European nations at the G8 summit. |
| Mr Bush called for a separate international gathering to create a "new global framework" on the issue in the autumn, rejecting the European approach to cutting greenhouse gases in favour of a technology-led model. | Mr Bush called for a separate international gathering to create a "new global framework" on the issue in the autumn, rejecting the European approach to cutting greenhouse gases in favour of a technology-led model. |
| 'Important' | 'Important' |
| Mrs Merkel insisted the UN and not individual countries should take the lead in fighting climate change and acknowledged she was in for a tough summit. | Mrs Merkel insisted the UN and not individual countries should take the lead in fighting climate change and acknowledged she was in for a tough summit. |
| "We will wrestle with climate change until the very last minute," she told Der Spiegel magazine. | "We will wrestle with climate change until the very last minute," she told Der Spiegel magazine. |
| "You will see that there are differing opinions from the fact that some things might not be in the final document." | "You will see that there are differing opinions from the fact that some things might not be in the final document." |
| Speaking in South Africa on Friday, Mr Blair said Mr Bush's comments were "extremely important" as they marked the first clear public statement by the US that it wants to be part of a global deal on climate change. | Speaking in South Africa on Friday, Mr Blair said Mr Bush's comments were "extremely important" as they marked the first clear public statement by the US that it wants to be part of a global deal on climate change. |
| He insisted there was the possibility of taking "a major step forward" at Heiligendamm, with an international agreement that includes the most polluting countries. | He insisted there was the possibility of taking "a major step forward" at Heiligendamm, with an international agreement that includes the most polluting countries. |
| Constitution | Constitution |
| And he called for G8 leaders to "step up to the plate" by recommitting to Gleneagles pledges on aid, conflict resolution and fighting lethal disease. | And he called for G8 leaders to "step up to the plate" by recommitting to Gleneagles pledges on aid, conflict resolution and fighting lethal disease. |
| Mrs Merkel is meanwhile expected to brief Mr Blair about her plans to push ahead with deal on the EU constitution at a summit in Brussels later this month. | Mrs Merkel is meanwhile expected to brief Mr Blair about her plans to push ahead with deal on the EU constitution at a summit in Brussels later this month. |
| The German chancellor, who currently holds the presidency of the EU, wants a wide-ranging treaty to take forward many of the proposals in the constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters two years ago. | The German chancellor, who currently holds the presidency of the EU, wants a wide-ranging treaty to take forward many of the proposals in the constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters two years ago. |
| But - at what will be his final major engagement before stepping down as prime minister - Mr Blair will push for a scaled-down treaty to update the EU's institutions without the wider and more controversial constitutional elements. | But - at what will be his final major engagement before stepping down as prime minister - Mr Blair will push for a scaled-down treaty to update the EU's institutions without the wider and more controversial constitutional elements. |