France's President Nicolas Sarkozy greets Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the courtyard of the Elysee Palace in Paris July 20, 2007.
(REUTERS/Benoit Tessier)
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will build on a new spirit of Anglo-French cooperation this week by calling for action to halt financial turmoil and by urging U.N. reform.
They will also discuss a possible French role in building new British nuclear power plants, action on illegal immigration and how to square French wishes for a greater EU role in defence with Britain's staunch support of NATO.
Sarkozy arrives in Britain on Wednesday for a two-day state visit, the first by a French president since Jacques Chirac in 1996. He and his new wife Carla Bruni will be guests of Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.
While their personalities differ - Sarkozy is an extrovert while Brown is seen as a brooding introvert - they have struck up a good relationship since coming to power in mid 2007. And after solid starts, both have seen their popularity slump.
Sarkozy has been keen to start afresh after French relations with the United States and Britain were strained by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq which Chirac resisted.
Some analysts believe he is also reaching out to Britain because he does not get on well with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Berlin and Paris traditionally dominate the EU.
"France recognises you can't do what you want in the EU when you've only got Germany on side, you need Britain as well," said Robin Shepherd, a Europe expert at the Chatham House think-tank.
WRITE-OFFS
Brown and Sarkozy will urge banks to disclose fully write-offs due to the credit crisis, officials said. Banks have written down over $125 billion (62 billion pounds) of assets due to the credit squeeze sparked by low-quality mortgages in the United States.
They will call for reform of the U.N. Security Council to make it more representative, including permanent representation for Africa, Brown's office said.
Britain and France are among the five permanent members of the council. Critics say the council's composition sets in stone the situation created by World War Two and takes no account of the rise of new powers such as India, South Africa or Brazil.
Sarkozy is eager for French firms to play a role in Britain's plan to build new nuclear power stations to help keep the lights on when North Sea oil and gas runs out.
A French reactor design was one of four given initial approval last week by Britain's nuclear regulators.
On defence, Sarkozy has signalled France might be ready to return to NATO's military structures after 41 years' absence but has made strengthening EU defence capabilities a pre-condition.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Sarkozy will seek British backing for a Frenchman to take a top NATO job in return for sending 1,000 extra troops to Afghanistan.
Sarkozy will address Britain's parliament on Wednesday before holding a summit with Brown on Thursday at the gleaming new stadium of Premier League side Arsenal - chosen as a symbol of Anglo-French cooperation because the team has a French manager, Arsene Wenger, and a number of French players.
