UK, Germany and France seek closer ties
By Marit Ruuda
The UK, France and Germany are planning to hold high level regular meetings much more often, as they believe that in an enlarged EU, important issues could be best discussed among a smaller group of nations.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw are hoping to meet their French and German counterparts roughly every six weeks, writes the Telegraph.
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Trilateral policy meetings with Paris and Berlin indicate that Britain is rethinking the way its diplomacy works in Europe.
"You cannot really discuss policy among 25. You can vote on it but not really have real, free discussion", a senior official told the Telegraph.
According to the newspaper, Paris has also approved this plan. "It's motivated by a realisation of the simple fact that Europe can't go forward unless the three get their act together", said a French diplomat.
The foreign ministers from all three countries held private talks near London at the beginning of this week.