11.  But the men were expected to discuss forging a European position on ways to ward off global financial crises.

12.  EU officials said the American efforts to conclude separate deals with member nations could weaken the European negotiating position.

13.  Farouk Kaddoumi, head of foreign affairs for the Palestine Liberation Organization, was looking for a stronger European position.

14.  He added that the European position was unacceptable and could only be explained in their lack of concern about the lives of the Muslim minority in Bosnia.

15.  Meanwhile, the European position on creating a EU-US free trade zone is mixed.

16.  Surprisingly only one official candidate has surfaced for what ostensibly will be a major European position.

17.  The proposal was closer to the European position than to the Arab position, the EU official said.

18.  In Paris, the French agriculture ministry welcomed the German move as contributing towards a harmonisation of European positions.

19.  According to Rommel, the European position is that the concept of sustainable development as agreed in earlier summits, includes economic development, social development and environmental protection.

20.  But the European position irks some ASEAN members, who see it as dictating how they should deal with their neighbor.