Frankrijk, Spanje en Duitsland bespreken lopende zaken in Madrid (en)

The leaders of Spain, France and Germany will convene in Madrid today, in the first meeting of its kind since José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero came to power in March this year.

The men are set to discuss the situation in Iraq, as well as the ratification of the European Constitutional Treaty.

All three countries are expected to hold a referendum on the treaty and Spain is likely to be the first member state to put the text to a popular vote with 27 February 2004 pencilled in as a possible date for the vote.

Spanish daily El Mundo reports that the Madrid government has been placing great emphasis on the meeting.

One of Mr Zapatero's promises after coming to power was to improve relations with France and Germany and put Spain at the forefront of EU integration.

Also on the agenda will be the ongoing discussions on the EU's 2007-2013 budget, as well as the status of Catalan as an EU language.