France-Germany: The leaders of France and Germany yesterday advocated "a European plan" to fight terrorism and said it was necessary to address the causes as well as the effects of violence like the bombings that killed 201 people in Spain, writes Lara Marlowe in Paris
Over lunch at the Élysée Palace, President Jacques Chirac and the Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, discussed the attacks in Spain, the election of a new Spanish prime minister who is much closer to their way of thinking, and the situation in Iraq and the Middle East.
Identical French and German positions on all issues strengthened the impression of joint Franco-German control at the heart of Europe; a constant since the two countries lavishly celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty in January last year.
In the past, Mr Chirac told journalists, "France paid a heavy and painful tribute to terrorism." Although France faced no specific threats today, "she is not safe from terrorist acts," Mr Chirac warned. "We must be viligant . . . While respecting civil liberties and the rule of law, Europe must protect its citizens."
"The battle against terrorism," Mr Schröder predicted, "is a challenge that will drag on and which will weigh heavily on Europe."
Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second in command of al-Qaeda, last month criticised the French law banning the wearing of Muslim headscarves in schools. Al-Zawahiri said the law was the result of "the grudge of western crusaders against the Muslims."
Although France opposed the invasion of Iraq and has so far refused to send troops there, French soldiers participate in US operations in Afghanistan. And French anti-terrorist judges have assiduously pursued fundamentalist extremists for more than a decade.
The hardline French Interior Minister, Mr Nicolas Sarkozy, says France is "starting a merciless war against the terrorists." France's Vigipirate security alert has been heightened, with a visible increase in police patrols at airports and train stations and on public transport.
Mr Chirac and Mr Schröder both stressed the need to address the causes of terrorism. "We must come together to end the conflicts which feed the anger and frustration of peoples, to fight poverty, humiliation and injustice, which are the breeding grounds of violence," Mr Chirac said.
"We must choose hope, solidarity and dialogue, notably the dialogue of civilisations over the allegedly inevitable clash of civilisations."
Mr Schröder said: "We must have a European plan, together, and improve it." But he poured cold water on suggestions by the Belgian Prime Minister and the Austrian Interior Minister that the EU should create an equivalent of the American CIA.
"Our first task must be to improve co-operation between existing intelligence services," the German leader said. "I can't exclude [a European intelligence agency\] in the future, but at the moment it's a distant theory."
Mr Chirac claimed there had been "a very deep reform of the mentalities and methods of co-operation" between national espionage services since September 11th, 2001. Yet officials complain privately of continuing bureaucracy and competition.
The Italian Foreign Minister, Mr Franco Frattini, told Corriere della Sera newspaper that intelligence agencies were still "too jealous of their turf" to share information.
The election in Spain of Mr José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is widely seen as a boost to the Franco-German pole within Europe. Paris and Berlin have not forgotten that Mr José Maria Aznar was the initiator of the "Letter of Eight" European countries supporting President Bush before the Iraq war. Mr Zapatero is expected to value relations within Europe more than translatlantic ties.
Mr Schröder said he had found Mr Zapatero's statements on the European constitution and Iraq "interesting". The Chancellor added that he had "learned with satisfaction that he wants to move things forward."
Mr Chirac said that France and Germany favoured the adoption of a European constitution "as close as possible to the Convention . . . the sooner the better". They trusted the Irish presidency "to find the best solutions to attain this objective."
Mr Schröder said it was unlikely that agreement on a constitution would be reached during this month's European Council.
The spring Council is traditionally devoted to economic strategy, he noted.