By KUNA
London : Britain and France were Thursday sealing an agreement on cooperation in the development of a new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK, officials said.
The issue of nuclear power was topping the agenda at a UK-France summit between British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the second and final day of the President’s state visit.
At a glittering state banquet held in his honour at Windsor Castle outside London last night, Sarkozy told the British Queen, the Prime Minister, and a host of dignitaries that to have an influence on the destiny of the world, France and Britain had to unite.
The President told the Queen “We have to unite our two countries to recover the influence which was theirs for such a long time.” Also under discussion at today’s summit, taking place at the Emirates Stadium in north London, the home of Arsenal football club, will be the global economic crisis, defense cooperation, and reform of international institutions, the officials added.
As Sarkozy made clear in his address to Parliament yesterday, Franco-British relations are once again “cordiale”, after years of coldness sparked in no small part by his predecessor Jacques Chirac’s opposition to the Iraq War.
The President yesterday called for a new era of “brotherhood” between the two countries, suggesting the “old nations” Britain and France could lead the world in dealing with challenges like global warming, globalization, and economic instability.
After decades in which the Paris-Berlin axis has driven the EU, Sarkozy made clear he is relying on British support to push through an agenda focused on climate change, energy, immigration, and defense during the six-month French presidency of the European Union beginning in July.
Speaking on the day when Britain’s Business Secretary John Hutton called for a significant expansion in the UK’s nuclear power production, the President said both the UK and France had “opted resolutely” for nuclear energy, both to secure future supplies and to cut carbon emissions.
Today’s talks are expected to see Brown and Sarkozy agree that Britain will draw on French expertise to build a new generation of nuclear plants to replace the UK’s ageing power stations over the coming decade.
France is a world leader in nuclear power, producing 80 percent of its electricity from this source against 20 percent in the UK.
French energy giant “EDF” has said that it wants to build four nuclear power plants in Britain and French know-how will be needed to train British workers with the skills to operate and maintain them.
Also thought to be on the table at today’s talks are new measures to combat illegal immigration.
Press reports suggest Brown and Sarkozy will unveil a plan involving joint charter flights to return migrants from the UK and France to their home countries, increased checks at ports on both sides of the Channel, and a pledge that there will be no new Sangatte-style camp (refugee holding camp) for would-be migrants near Calais, northern France.
The President and Prime Minister are also likely to discuss closer cooperation on defense projects, to bring down the cost of major procurements like Britain’s planned aircraft carriers, the officials pointed out.
Sarkozy has recently offered to restore France to NATO’s integrated military structure, in a move apparently designed to reassure Atlanticists in the UK and elsewhere that the development of a European defense capability is no threat to the Alliance.
He will undoubtedly discuss with Brown his plans for European defense, as well as giving him further details of the deployment of around 1,000 additional French troops for Afghanistan which he is expected to offer at next week’s NATO summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest.
Brown and Sarkozy will issue a call for greater transparency in the global banking system in order to restore stability to the international financial markets shaken by the credit crunch.
With some estimates putting the scale of banks’ bad debts at 300 billion pounds worldwide, Brown and Sarkozy are increasingly concerned that uncertainty over potential write-offs is affecting confidence in financial markets.
They will say that banks should come clean about the scale of their bad debts, rather than allowing them to trickle out in piecemeal fashion.
And they will call for reform of international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund to provide early warnings of future risks to the global economy.
Brown and Sarkozy are also expected to call for reform of the UN Security Council to include permanent representation for Africa.
Both Britain and France are permanent members of the council, but both feel that it should be made more representative of the global realities of the early 21st century.
They will agree a joint UK-France conference later this year to share best practice on using civilian missions to stabilize countries emerging from conflict.