'Old Europe' enjoys the sweet talk but awaits proof of US intentions

PARIS - A European swing by two of US President George W. Bush's top aides, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, has generated a surge of hope that the badly hurt transatlantic relationship can be fixed.

Rice and Rumsfeld, who two years ago were the fiercest critics of France and Germany for leading opposition to the Iraq war, sang songs of reconciliation, partnership and mutual interest to pave the way for Bush's big trip to Europe.

The sweet words have come as a relief to many European policymakers, worried about the damage inflicted on US-European relations by the hard-nosed unilateralism of Bush's first term.

Bush can at least expect guarded smiles and firm handshakes, rather than aloofness and score-settling, in his February 21-24 tour.

Rice's meeting with Nato foreign ministers in Brussels yielded, in her words, "the best discussion of Iraq that we have had as an alliance" since before Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003.

France and Germany swallowed some of their anger over the Iraq war by agreeing to train Iraqi security forces, albeit outside the country.

Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer declared that the row over Iraq had "turned a corner".

In her talks with the European Commission, Rice preached to the choir. She lavished praise on "a strong and united Europe," that would be a partner, but not a rival or counterpoise, to the US.

In response, commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "More than ever, Europe needs the United States and the United States needs Europe.

"We must seize this opportunity with both hands. Today's international problems are too complex to go it alone."

Rice reserved Paris for her biggest blast of charm. "America stands ready to work with Europe on our common agenda and Europe must stand ready to work with America," she said in a speech to a hand-picked audience of French politicians.

Even Rumsfeld, famous for his crustiness and unvarnished words, slapped on some soothing balm in his meeting with fellow Nato defence ministers in Nice and at a security conference in Munich.

He even made a quip about his use of the phrase "Old Europe", which skewered France and Germany as anti-war dissidents two years ago.

"When I first mentioned I might be travelling in France and Germany, it raised some eyebrows," he said. "One wag said it ought to be an interesting trip after all that has been said. I thought for a moment and then I replied, 'Oh, that was the old Rumsfeld'."

The response in Europe to all this has been good - mixed, however, with wariness about whether Washington will match words with action once it comes to dealing with the many difficult disputes.

Over the past four years, the two blocs have locked horns over Iraq, Iran's nuclear programme, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a United Nations court for war crimes, the Kyoto Protocol, the arms embargo on China and a long series of trade disputes.

"Gone is the mocking of Old Europe, the poisonous strategy of divide and rule and the mantra attributed to none other than Ms Rice that the US should 'forgive Russia, ignore Germany and punish France'," the Financial Times said.

The French leftwing daily Liberation said Bush "has given top priority to repairing the diplomatic crockery that he smashed like an elephant in his first term".

But it questioned whether America's olive branch to Europe was "merely a tactical adjustment" that stemmed from its problems in Iraq. Rice "talks the talk, but can she walk the walk?", it asked.

Daniel Keohane, an analyst with a London think tank, the Centre for European Reform, said Iraq was now clearly a far smaller problem than before thanks to the elections there, whose turnout surprised even European sceptics.

"There's no point arguing about the war any more, as everyone agrees that we have to win the peace," he said.

"This is all well and good, and set things up nicely for the Bush visit. But there are a number of issues still simmering under the surface, not least China. And Iran could be even more divisive than Iraq."

So, for the time being, "Old Europe" likes Bush's wooing. But it is still a long way from being seduced.