The trial of the five Bulgarian nurses in Libya, sentenced to death on bogus charges of intentionally infecting kids with the AIDS virus, has been included on the agenda of the EU-US summit in Washington.

EU and US leaders gathered Monday at the White House to boost economic ties but harboured little hope of striking an accord on the issues of visa-free entry and global warming.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President George W. Bush and EU Commissioner Jose Manuel Barroso are attending the summit.

Under the current Visa Waiver programme, the United States does not require visas from citizens of 15 of the 27 countries in the EU, but the scheme does not apply to Greece or the 10 new member states, except Slovenia.

The European Union is expected to pressure at the upcoming summit the United States to extend its visa waiver scheme for the eleven EU member states not covered by the scheme.

The issue of economic integration is a far less thorny one.

The world's two largest economic blocs are each other's main trading partners, with 1.7 million euros worth of trade flowing across the Atlantic every day. Between them, they make up nearly half the world's economic output and dominate its trade.

According to Merkel, fewer regulatory barriers between the EU and US would this increasing integration with a rise of 3.5 percent in gross domestic product.

The German chancellor first referred to the new partnership when she met US President George Bush in early January. Her initiative aims to cut red tape in the financial sector, health, food and energy -- making exporting goods and services easier.

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