DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

European Union and Latin American leaders meeting in the Peruvian capital, Lima, have called for action to tackle surging food prices and global warming. However a joint statement released at the end of the summit did not include any concrete plans for dealing with either problem. The leaders also made little progress towards an agreement on reducing trade barriers. Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez used the summit to apologise to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Chavez told the chancellor that he was sorry if comments he made earlier in the week had been harsh. Chavez had described Merkel as a political descendent of Adolf Hitler. German officials, though, have denied Chavez's claim that Merkel had invited him to visit Germany.