No climate consensus at U.S.-EU summit

By Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union and United States will pledge at a summit next week to remove costly non-tariff business barriers, but steer clear of a strong message on climate change amid resistance from Washington.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has worked hard to improve transatlantic ties following a damaging split over the Iraq war, will meet U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington on Monday -- her fourth visit since taking office and first since assuming the rotating presidency of the EU.

The centrepiece of the meeting will be a "Transatlantic Economic Partnership" agreement to harmonise regulatory standards and boost cooperation in areas from intellectual property and port security to investment and accounting.

Merkel has championed the agreement for its economic benefits. She also hopes to send a message to rising powers like China about Europe and Washington's determination to promote their common values and rules in a globalised world.

But the summit, which will touch on top international issues like Iran's nuclear programme, Middle East peace and Kosovo independence, also risks exposing deep differences between the partners on the issue of global warming.

German officials said on Thursday the two sides were still wrangling over the wording of a statement on climate change, which Merkel had hoped would be a springboard for a broader climate deal at a June G8 summit she will host in Heiligendamm.

Instead, the watered-down statement is expected only to acknowledge the need for "heightened" or "strengthened" action to fight global warming without any specific pledges.

"The willingness of the United States to discuss this issue at all is positive," one senior German official said, describing the EU-U.S. meeting as a "first step" on the road to the Heiligendamm summit, which is now only six weeks away.