By Ray Furlong BBC correspondent in Berlin

There is doubt over how much Europe's core leaders agree on

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder plays host to Britain's Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac of France just days before taking off to New York for his first one-on-one meeting with George Bush since the Iraq war.

The buzz in the air surrounds a possible deal on the US draft resolution on Iraq currently on the table at the United Nations.

Germany and France have criticised it - but also suggested amendments, in a sign of compromise.

"I believe the three must give a signal that they will do all they can to find a common platform concerning the Iraq conflict at the United Nations," says Guenter Gloser, an MP for Germany's ruling Social Democrats.

"It could be a first step, and if we have a common result it's good for politics in Europe and for the partnership between the Europeans and the United States."

UK pessimism

However, British officials have played down the chances of a deal - telling the BBC not to expect much from the meeting.

Germany and France clashed harshly with Britain and the US before the Iraq war, and much of the damage has yet to be healed.

The question about this meeting is how far the gap will narrow between Chirac and Blair Albrecht Meier, Der Tagesspiegel

Mr Blair arrives in Berlin just two days after Mr Schroeder and Mr Chirac staged a show of Franco-German unity on the chancellery lawn.

Basking in late summer sunshine, the French leader reiterated calls for a transfer of power to Iraqi authorities within "months not years" and insisted the UN must oversee the process.

"The question about this meeting is how far the gap will narrow between Chirac and Blair," says Albrecht Meier, foreign editor of Der Tagesspiegel newspaper.

"Germany shares the same position, but the hard bargaining in the Security Council will be done by France."

Mr Blair may take more heart from the more moderate tone coming out of Germany.

"It's a matter of creating the stability that we all need in the Middle East. No-one wants a failure in Iraq, so we will make a contribution," says Hermann von Richtoven, a former German ambassador to London.

"We also have lots to do in Europe: enlargement, deepening, the constitution... so these three need to get together and also find agreement on a joint approach to the Middle East."

German rapprochement

Germany has offered to train Iraqi policemen, provide humanitarian aid and help with rebuilding Iraq.

In another sign of rapprochement, Gerhard Schroeder wrote an article in Friday's New York Times stressing the need to "work together to win the peace".

I haven't seen much influence of Germany on the course of events, neither at the UN nor elsewhere Klaus Naumann, former German senior general

But not everyone here is impressed. Klaus Naumann, formerly Germany's most senior general, has been a vocal critic of Chancellor Schroeder's policy.

"I haven't seen much influence of Germany on the course of events, neither at the UN nor elsewhere. It seems to me that Mr Chirac and Mr Schroeder have to give a little more than Mr Blair," he says.

There's also plenty of scope for disagreement on other issues.

France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg have angered Britain and the United States with plans for a separate European military headquarters outside Nato.

Then there's the draft constitution for the European Union. Britain has suggested numerous changes. But speaking Thursday, Mr Schroeder said the current text should not be fiddled with.

"If you start taking it apart," he said, "you might not be able to put it back together."

As with the UN resolution on Iraq, decision time on the constitution is approaching fast.