EU summit is Bush's first stop in last Europe trip

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The agenda is broad for a summit that lasts less than a day, leaving doubts about what could be accomplished. There's also trade, rising world food prices, soaring gasoline costs, Lebanon and Kosovo's independence. But Tehran's nuclear program and global warming are two of the top concerns.

Bush started out by letting it slip that he won't be back to Europe again as president.

Meeting separately with Slovenian President Danilo Turk and Prime Minister Janez Jansa at Brdo Castle in the tiny town of Kranj before the U.S.-EU summit, Bush praised the beauty of this small Central European nation.

"My first trip to Europe as president began in Slovenia, and my last trip as president to Europe ...," Bush said, his thought trailing off.

"I wish you could stay here for a while, you could learn a great deal about local culture," Turk told him, a common refrain from Bush's hosts as he speed-travels around the world.

The president is trying to get Britain, Germany and France on board on Iran with a carrot-and-stick strategy a package of new penalties and incentives aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Bush wants the next package of U.N. sanctions to be tougher than the last.

His meetings with EU leaders in the host country of Slovenia were being held at Brdo Castle, the place where Bush first met former Russian President Vladimir Putin and declared: "I looked the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul."

Before leaving the castle to fly to Berlin for a social dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bush is taking in an exhibition of white Lipizzaner horses, known for their elegant strutting. During his weeklong stay in Europe, he also is going to Italy, France, London and Belfast.

What to do about global warming has been a sticking point of U.S.-European relations.

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