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 Bush had a long list of trans-Atlantic issues on his plate at his final U.S.-European Union summit, held in the scenic countryside amid majestic mountain ranges. None more pressing than Iran. The president wants to get Britain, Germany and France to agree on a package of new penalties and incentives aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. And he wants the next package of U.N. sanctions to be tougher than the last.
According to the summit declaration obtained by The Associated Press, Bush and the EU leaders were poised to threaten Iran with further financial sanctions unless it verifiably suspends its nuclear enrichment. The statement said Iran must fully disclose any nuclear weapons work and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s watchdog group, to verify that any such work has ceased.
Bush and the heads of the EU, a political and economic coalition of 27 countries that works to promote security and commerce across the continent, called on Tehran to stop its support for terrorist organizations destabilizing the Mideast. The statement said the United States and the EU would work to ensure that "Iranian banks cannot abuse the international banking system to support proliferation and terrorism."
Iran insists that it has only civilian uses in mind for its nuclear program. Yet it is under fire for defying three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions and continuing to enrich uranium, which can generate both nuclear fuel and the fissile material for the core of nuclear warheads. Iran has also stonewalled attempts by the IAEA to delve into allegations that several Iranian projects appear to represent different components of a nuclear weapons program.
"A mutually satisfactory, negotiated solution remains open to Iran," the statement said. But the leaders also said that they would fully implement U.N. sanctions against Iran and were "ready to supplement those sanctions with additional measures."
The Bush administration has warned that Iran is using an array of deceptive practices to hide involvement in nuclear proliferation and terrorist activities.
Iran's central bank, also known as Bank Markazi, is involved in these deceptive acts, according to the U.S. government. The White House has been looking at new steps to cut off more Iranian banks from the international financial system and has been seeking backing from European allies.
It was unclear whether the freshly stated concern over Iranian banks on Tuesday meant that Europeans had signed on for the kind of tough measures the U.S. favors, such as banning business with Iranian banks, or merely represented a repeat of previous calls for closer monitoring of dealings with them.
Bush started the summit by letting it slip that he won't be back to Europe again as president.
Meeting separately with Slovenian President Danilo Turk and Prime Minister Janez Jansa at Brdo Castle in the tiny town of Kranj before the U.S.-EU summit, Bush praised the beauty of this small Central European nation.
"My first trip to Europe as president began in Slovenia, and my last trip as president to Europe ...," Bush said, his thought trailing off.
"I wish you could stay here for a while, you could learn a great deal about local culture," Turk told him, a common refrain from Bush's hosts as he speed-travels around the world.
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 His meetings with EU leaders were held at Brdo Castle, the place where Bush first met former Russian President Vladimir Putin and declared: "I looked the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul."
On Iraq, an issue that fractured trans-Atlantic relations after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the leaders urged countries in the region to open diplomatic missions in Baghdad. On Afghanistan, they called on the Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, to "invigorate" its efforts to fight corruption and drug trafficking, and for the international community to pledge financial support at this week's Afghanistan donors conference in Paris.
Turk pressed Bush to close the U.S. terror detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Europeans have been harshly critical of alleged human rights abuses at Guantanamo and the long-term holding of suspects there without the filing of formal charges. Turk said after Tuesday's talks that "the American justice system is making efforts in this direction," but he did not elaborate.
On global warming, another sticking point in U.S.-Europe relations, the two sides essentially restated their positions. The EU has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020. The United States wants any global agreement on climate change to include pledges by fast-growing economies, such as India and China.
They also called in the statement for the United Nations to send a team to Zimbabwe to monitor the human rights situation ahead of the second round of presidential elections on June 27. And they urged all sides to refrain from further violence over Tibet.
Before leaving the castle to fly to Berlin for a social dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bush was to take in an exhibition of white Lipizzaner horses, known for their elegant strutting. During his weeklong stay in Europe, he also is going to Italy, France, London and Belfast.
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On the Net:
U.S.-European Union summit: http://tinyurl.com/3vwqog
Transatlantic Economic Council:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/
enterprise-policy/inter-rel/tec/index-en.htm
[Associated
Press; By DEB RIECHMANN]
Associated Press Writers Snjezana Vukic and William Kole in Kranj, Slovenia, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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