Speaking of trans-Atlantic partnerships (see previous entry and check the podcast on the Atlantic Community), in yet another sign of closer over-the-pond ties, next Monday the Angela Merkel-led European Union and the United States will sign a mutual agreement to lower barriers to bilateral trade on the occasion of an US-EU summit to be held in Washington. The agreement, which Der Spiegel understands will be "wide-ranging" and focus on a steady removal of "non-tariff" trade barriers, while not specified, what this writer understands as government subsidies to industrial sectors that create unfair or "artificial" pricing advantages.

Other goals are mutal acceptance of accounting practices (untangling a history of EU-US logjams), uniform quality control processes and the creation of a "joint energy forum" comprised of 20 energy industry leaders. Seeing eye-to-eye in this second part -- the one with the energy and the climate change -- on Monday's meeting, however, is expected to meet with rather a higher degree of disagreement; with just a few days away from the Washington showdown, 50 percent of the EU-US climate change agreement remains unsigned.

Counted together, the United States and European Union make up 60 percent of the global market. Germany says a successful trade agreement would equate to a 3 percent jump in its GDP.