MADRID - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will host informal summit talks with French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Madrid on 13 September, his office said Monday. A spokesman said the talks were expected to focus on international questions but added that Zapatero had no ambition to create "a Paris-Berlin-Madrid axis" in place of the "Paris-Berlin axis which is the driving force of the European Union". | He'd like too, but they won't give up the reins of power. |
Zapatero said after coming to power in an unexpected election victory in March that his government would seek closer ties with its EU partners, in contrast to the pro-US foreign policy of its conservative predecessor. He has said Spain will hold a referendum early next year to ratify the new EU constitution. |