German-Canadian Ties

In meetings between the EU and Canada ahead of the G8 summit, both sides agreed to work together on creating a plan to improve economic ties via reduced regulations. They struck deals on air security and air traffic.

Just two days before the G8 meetings are set to begin, Merkel represented the EU at talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Berlin. Harper is one of the eight leaders who will attend the summit, which starts on Wednesday at the German beach resort of Heiligendamm.

After the meeting, Merkel said she welcomed help from Canada on her efforts to keep talks on combating climate change under the aegis of the United Nations.

Accord on greenhouse gases

Harper and Merkel issued a statement saying both sides sought to cut greenhouse gases by at least half by 2050. However, they remain divided on what year to take as a starting point, with the EU favoring 1990 and Canada 2006.

Merkel disagreed last week with a call by US President George W. Bush for major industrial countries to meet separately on the emissions issue.

The chancellor said she and Harper agreed "to a very large extent" that "the talks need to take place in a UN framework."

Even if main nations talked separately, "the decisive thing is that it all feeds into a UN document," said Merkel, who is chairing the G8 and the European Union and was set to hold more talks on climate Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In a press statement after the meeting, Merkel said the talks had led to "very positive results." And both countries agreed that all polluters should be part of any statement, including China and India.

Visa regulations for EU visitors to Canada

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters that at the Berlin talks, Brussels had urged Harper to allow visa-free, short-stay entry for travelers from all the EU nations to Canada.

Harper said Canada had a "process in place" to review its entry rules for Estonians, and this issue was "moving in a positive direction."