Berlusconi Backs Blair on G8 Agenda

Tony Blair today declared he had the backing of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi for his twin G8 agendas of Africa and climate change, as the pair met in Rome.

With just over a month to go before the Gleneagles meeting of the eight richest nations - chaired by Mr Blair - the prime minister has embarked on a round of global jetsetting which will also see him visit Washington, Russia, France and Germany, and hold video conferences with the leaders of Japan and Canada.

Speaking at a press conference after talks with Mr Berlusconi, Mr Blair said: "On the G8 agenda we are in agreement on the way forward, both in respect of Africa and climate change.

"The purpose of the plan for Africa this year is to try to put all the different pieces of the problem of Africa - not just that of aid and debt but also that of governance and conflict - in a comprehensive plan."

He called the talks "friendly and constructive", although both men refused to stray far into the subject of the upcoming French and Dutch referendums on the EU constitution. However, Mr Blair - who takes the rotating presidency of the EU in July, and so may have to deal with the fallout from any rejection - did say that he thought "economic reform in Europe is essential".

The PM and his family will now spend the bank holiday weekend in Italy, although Downing Street refused to say if the Blairs would be making use of Mr Berlusconi's Sardinian holiday home, where they stayed last August.

The challenges facing Mr Blair at the G8 summit include trying to persuade America to sign up to the Kyoto protocol, pushing members to back the UK-sponsored Commission for Africa, the adoption of Gordon Brown's scheme for an International Finance Facility (also opposed by America), and doubling aid to Africa from the G8 nations to $100bn a year.

Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth (FoE) today described a G8 communiqué on climate change, apparently leak on the web, as a "damp squib".

Downing Street did not deny the document was genuine. It said government policy was not to comment on leaks, but added that such leaks "were often out of date".

"The important thing is to judge [the G8] on results of the negotiations, and we do not give a running commentary on negotiations."

FoE climate change spokeswoman Catherine Pearce called the communiqué "fundamentally weak and insubstantial".

The environmental group criticised the document for apparently setting no specific targets or timetables on reducing G8 greenhouse gases, whilst focusing financial resources on nuclear power and the controversial idea of "carbon capture", or burying carbon emissions under the seabed.

As well as chairing the G8 this year, the UK takes over the rotating presidency of the EU on July 1, with Mr Blair likely to be left with the task of picking up the pieces of the rejected treaty.

The prime minister's Commission for Africa reported back in March with ambitious targets for increasing aid to the continent and reforming African governance, while Mr Blair has also insisted that climate change is one of the biggest threats facing humanity.

However, earlier this year he rejected calls for a tax on aviation fuel to curb the growth in flights. Last week in a speech in London, the EU commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, suggested a voluntary levy of a euro on passenger flights to be spent on international aid. Britian's referendum on the EU constitution is pencilled in for next spring. Although the prime minister and foreign secretary have insisted it will go ahead whatever the results of the French and Dutch votes, they have also said that if there is no treaty left by the time of the UK vote there will be no point in holding one.

The Liberal Democrats agree with that position, while the Conservatives have called for Britain to bring forward its referendum to October.

The French president, Jacques Chirac, has suggested that all referendums on the constitution should go ahead before a final decision on how to proceed is taken.