The meeting, the third of its kind under President George W Bush, will be the first since the conflict, which drove a major rift between Washington and many key European allies.
The agenda should be packed, and is expected to range from international issues including Iraq, the Middle East, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Cuba and Iran; to trade, including opening air transport and differences over agricultural policies and genetically modified crops; to cooperation on legal and anti-terrorism issues, US and European diplomatic sources said.
The discussions will come on the heels of the European summit near Thessaloniki, Greece, where the 15 EU member states voiced their will to see US-EU relations move forward on an equal footing in all areas.
EU leaders also agreed they want closer relations with the US, as part of a strategic effort to earn for Europeans greater influence on major issues in international affairs.
It will be a delicate diplomatic get-together, after the conflict in Iraq laid bare some European countries' deep divisions with Washington - namely Germany and France's opposition to war on the US timetable - and revived in the US notions that Europe may well be eager to boost its profile as a counterbalance to US superpower status.
Britain, Spain and future EU member Poland did back the US-led military effort.
Top EU diplomat Javier Solana has said Europeans should not base their security on an exclusive partnership with the US.
He also has said the atmosphere with the Americans now has improved markedly allowing useful discussions with Washington on key issues.
The summit will above all aim to "boost transatlantic cooperation" rather than revisiting disagreements over the run-up to the war in Iraq, according to a European diplomatic source in Washington.
On the trade front US opposition to EU farm subsidies will no doubt be addressed.
The US considers them a key issue for making progress in World Trade Organization negotiations.
The parties also are at odds over genetically modified foods, over which the US has pledged it would continue to dispute the European Union in the WTO.
The talks also will cover a vast air traffic liberalisation plan on both sides of the North Atlantic that will replace current bilateral agreements.
On the legal front, EU-US extradition and mutual assistance treaties will be signed formally, aiming to help combat terrorism.
Bush will roll out the red carpet for Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, and European Commission President Romano Prodi.
The US delegation will include at least a dozen ministerial or other top-level officials including Secretary of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser.
For the Europeans, Simitis will be joined by members of his government, as well as Solana, EU trade commissioner Pascal Lamy and Loyola de Palacio, the top EU transport official. - Sapa-AFP.
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