STRASBOURG, France, Oct 1 (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder were to meet Friday in the eastern French city of Strasbourg for informal talks focused on Turkey`s bid to join the EU and Iraq.
Foreign ministers Michel Barnier of France and Joschka Fischer of Germany were to attend the talks, part of a series of informal bilateral meetings held every six to eight weeks in order to coordinate policy on European issues.
The French and German leaders were expected to convene early in the day, with a joint press conference scheduled to take place at about midday (1000 GMT).
Chirac and Schroeder were then to attend a reception at Strasbourg city hall commemorating the 60th anniversary of its liberation from Nazi rule, which took place on November 20 and 21, 1944, followed by a private lunch.
Turkey`s bid to join the 25-nation European Union could top Friday`s agenda, with the bloc`s enlargement commissioner Guenter Verheugen due to release a key report on Ankara`s progress toward the start of EU entry talks next week.
Chirac and Schroeder have both backed Turkey`s eventual EU membership, but a majority of the French people is opposed to its entry in principle, an opinion poll released this week showed.
Chirac`s ruling center-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party is also against Turkey`s bid. French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Michel Barnier have backed the idea of a referendum on the issue.
In Germany, opposition Christian Democratic Union chief Angela Merkel has recently tried to rally support among European conservatives against Turkish EU membership, calling instead for a "privileged partnership" with the bloc.
The financing of the EU`s 2007-2013 budget was also expected to be discussed, according to Chirac`s office.
"Unfortunately there are limits as to how much we can spend. We have to be reasonable," Chirac said in September at a summit in Madrid with Schroeder and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
On Iraq, Chirac and Schroeder were likely to discuss a planned international conference on organizing elections in Iraq. Egypt is a leading candidate to host the meeting in November, US Secretary of State Colin Powell told AFP.
Barnier said earlier this week that any conference ought to address the questions of whether US-led forces should leave Iraq, and should include representatives of the armed opposition.