Alle som drømmer om EU som en motvekt til USA, bør lese om rotet og krangelen før toppmøtet med Bush. Det er en byråkratisk detalj, men likevel beskrivende. Det er langt igjen til Europa snakker med en stemme.

Luxembourg har for tiden formannskapet, og statsminister Jean-Claude Juncker, sier at hvis spydigheter kunne drepe så ville det ligge hauger med lik i gatene. Det krangles om alt, fra hvordan pressekonferansen med Bush skal forløpe, til hvordan kniv og gaffel skal legges sammen. Nasjonalstatene blander seg inn, ministerrådet og kommisjonen. Resultatet er A MESS.

Bush har satt av halvannen time med ministerrådet. Det er 25 stater og 10 punkter på dagsorden. Alle landene ønsker å si noe. Smarte hoder har foreslått at hvert land får ta opp et tema. Men Bush vil ikke ha noen gjentakelse av et toppmøte i Gøteborg: der snakket hvert EU-land i tre minutter og det var gørrkjedelig.

EU diplomats and institutions have also haggled over where Bush should hold a joint news conference with the EU, who should be on the platform and who should host an informal dinner with the U.S. leader.
The European Parliament, the EU’s only directly elected institution, has been completely excluded from the programme.
Trivial details had kept legions of experts busy with heated debates between the EU’s Council of Ministers, representing member states, and the European Commission, the EU’s Brussels-based executive arm, Juncker said.

Diplomats said Juncker had asked one EU leader to introduce each major theme in an effort to make the discussion more manageable, but the list was still long.
France would explain the EU’s integration process and Italy would outline efforts to revive the stagnant European economy.
Britain would cover the Middle East peace process, Germany would report on EU nuclear talks with Iran, Slovakia would detail EU plans to help Iraq, and Spain would discuss ties with Mediterranean partners.
Hungary will cover the EU approach to Ukraine, Ireland will deal with ties with Russia, Austria will address the future of the Balkans and the Netherlands the fight against terrorism.
Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, who hosted the Gothenburg meeting, would discuss EU development policy and efforts meet the U.N. goals for reducing global poverty.
But despite efforts to set a limited agenda and speakers’ list, Juncker acknowledged that keeping his colleagues disciplined could prove difficult.
«We’ll have a debate of 90 minutes so it’s totally excluded that everyone will touch on each matter. It has been organised in a proper way. It will probably happen in a different manner, but that’s always the case,» he said. (reuters)

Hvis dette blir resultatet kommer Bush til å få det like fornøyelig som i Gøteborg. Washington ønsker etter sigende ikke et EU som utfordrer USA, men Bush kan slappe av. Selv ikke en pressekonferanse greier man bli enig om.