Sarkozy opens first summit of Mediterranean union
(PARIS) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday opened a Paris summit of some 40 leaders to launch a new union between Europe and Mediterranean countries.
Heads of state and government from the 27 EU nations and an arc of countries from north Africa to the Balkans -- representing some 756 million people -- are to inaugurate the new forum at the Grand Palais on Paris' Champs Elysees.
The meeting marks Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's return to the international stage, seated at the same table as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
France hopes the new Union for the Mediterranean, the centerpiece of its EU presidency, will bolster regional cooperation and provide new impetus to Middle East peace efforts.
Through his energetic lobbying, Sarkozy scored a major coup by getting almost everyone to the venue, although their attendance will not be enshrined in any family photograph, due to objections.
Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi is boycotting the meeting, while Jordan's King Abdullah II and King Mohammed VI of Morocco are sending senior representatives.
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