Bush, EU 'agree to disagree' on global warming

Bush and wife Laura arriving in Sweden on Thursday

GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- U.S. President George W. Bush and European Union leaders will "agree to disagree" about Bush's rejection of an international anti-global warming agreement.

The announcement Thursday followed a meeting of Bush and leaders of the 15-nation group.

Bush's rejection of the Kyoto protocol on gases believed to cause global warming has upset EU leaders and was seen to be a major bone of contention at the summit.

Bush spoke at a news conference with EU Commission President Romano Prodi and Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson.

"As the prime minister said, we don't agree on the Kyoto treaty. But we do agree that climate change is a serious issue and we must work together," Bush said. "We agreed to intensify cooperation in science and technology."

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The Swedish prime minister downplayed the importance of the disagreement, saying everyone agreed that something must be done to reduce so-called greenhouse gases, which are blamed for global warming.

"We don't agree upon how we regard the Kyoto protocol," Persson said. "So ... we agree to disagree about substance, according to the Kyoto protocol."

The U.S. president explained his reasons for rejecting the treaty.

"We didn't feel like the Kyoto treaty was well-balanced," Bush said. "It didn't include developing nations. The goals are not realistic. However, that doesn't mean we cannot continue to work together -- and will work together -- on reducing greenhouse gases."

Bush's visit and his policy on Kyoto have sparked large protests, with about 12,000 people expected to join demonstrations in Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city.

The EU-U.S. summit took place at Gunnebo Slott, an 18th-century castle.

'Delaying tactic'

Before Bush arrived in Europe for his five-day tour, EU environment ministers had rejected his latest initiatives to study climate change, calling them short on action.

They urged Bush to change his mind, but the president said the agreement on global warming was fatally flawed.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour said "European leaders are expected to disagree with Bush's olive branch."

She said some European leaders believed the scientific research, which forms the basis of the treaty, is good enough to act upon now and that any further studies will be a "delaying tactic."

Persson said: "We think that the Kyoto protocol is a necessary document, necessary process. I am convinced that we will agree to disagree about substance."

The treaty had been negotiated by the Clinton administration but never ratified by the U.S. Senate.

Robert Zoellick, the U.S. trade representative, said: "For all the to-ing and fro-ing, this is a critical aspect of restarting the dialogue, because Kyoto wasn't going to go anywhere in the United States or many other countries."

Other issues on the agenda are a new round of international trade liberalisation negotiations, the prospects for peace in the Middle East and the security and human rights situation in North Korea.

Bush said he expected to discuss with EU leaders their plan to create a 60,000-strong military force to perform non-combat missions, such as peacekeeping, where NATO opts not to act.

"The United States would welcome a capable European force," so long as it is "properly integrated" with NATO and take into account the views of non-EU members of NATO, such as Turkey, he said.

Bush is in Sweden after an informal NATO summit held in Brussels on Wednesday.

The president had been optimistic that he had made progress on the issue of a defence missile system.

After the meeting, he conceded there was "some nervousness" but that he was "making progress" and that fears were being allayed when the scheme was explained.

But France, Germany and Russia still expressed reservations.

France said the Antiballistic Missile Treaty, which the missile defence would replace, was a "pillar" of security.

Germany questioned the technical abilities of the scheme, while Igor Sergeyev, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Moscow was still determined to retain the ABM treaty and that Russia's position was "categorical and unchanged."

Bush's European tour, which will also take in Poland and Slovenia, is due to reach its climax on Saturday when he holds his first meeting with Putin.