Franco-German summit

The leaders of France and Germany are holding an informal summit meeting outside Paris later today.

There is no official agenda for the meeting, but a BBC correspondent says the leaders are likely to concentrate on the French presidency of the European Union, which beings in July, and the reform and expansion of the EU.

Our correspondent say the talks come at a time when the two countries are attempting to return some of the vision to the European debate which has faded in recent years. Last week, the German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, outlined his vision of a politically-integrated EU with the Franco-German axis as its main motor. The meeting is the first in a series planned for the coming months.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service