Sarkozy and Brown agree on 'partnership of pioneers'

ELITSA VUCHEVA

28.03.2008 @ 09:28 CET

Following a high-profile summit, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown agreed to intensify cooperation between their countries in a number of fields "as a partnership of pioneers leading the global response to new international challenges."

The range of fields where the two leaders vowed to work jointly include "[reforms of] international institutions, foreign and defence policy, development, migration, climate change and energy, and global prosperity, including the promotion of practical responses to such challenges", says a 14-page joint declaration published Thursday (27 March).

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More concretely, France and the UK will work together to reform institutions such as the G8, the International Monetary Fund and the UN Security Council – where they reaffirmed support for Germany, Brazil, India and Japan's candidacies for a permanent seat, as well as for a permanent African representation.

They will also "tackle development and climate change together and coordinate their action in order to harness greater resources", the document reads.

One of the Anglo-French goals suggests getting "16 million children into school in Africa by 2010 and every child by 2015."

The two leaders also called for greater transparency in financial markets and for the improvement of risk management in a bid to "promote financial stability" following the recent global credit crisis.

They also pledged to join efforts to combat terrorism and to boost the EU's military capabilities, and will work on proposals for a meeting of EU leaders in June on "how EU counter-radicalisation efforts might be deepened, for example by devoting more EU spending to counter radicalisation work."

But they did not agree on how to approach the 2008 Olympic Games' opening ceremony in Beijing in August, in light of China's recent crackdown on Tibet.

Mr Sarkozy has not ruled out boycotting the opening ceremony of the games. The French president, who will head the EU at the time of Olympics, said he will consult other member states before taking a final decision on the matter.

Mr Brown, whose country will host the next Games in 2012, excluded a boycott and said he would attend the ceremony.

Towards an 'entente formidable'

The Sarkozy-Brown meeting took place the second day of the French leader's state visit to the UK.

In a speech full of praise for his host country on Wednesday (26 March), the French president called for closer Franco-British ties, as well as for Britain to play a greater role in Europe.

For his part, Mr Brown returned the compliments although somewhat less effusively.

"We will turn the 'entente cordiale' [cordial relationship] into the 'entente amicale' [friendly relationship]," he said at a press conference after their meeting yesterday.

In the last years, relations between the two countries had cooled, notably over Britain's participation in the 2003 Iraq war which France opposed.

Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac, respectively Mr Brown and Mr Sarkozy's predecessors, also had different views on the EU's future, on the common agricultural policy and free trade.

But now, although these policy differences are not completely bridged over, Mr Brown said the Franco-British cooperation could turn into an "entente formidable" – or a wonderful relationship.