Europe

The Treasury secretary is heading to Europe for a two-day trip in early April as financial challenges loom over the region. 

Secretary Jack Lew will spend April 8-9 in Brussels, Frankfurt and Paris for discussions with his European counterparts on economic developments and policies that can boost global growth and further promote financial stability.

This is Lew's second international trip since he was confirmed by the Senate in late February. He recently returned from a trip to China. 

Lew will spend April 8 in Brussels for meetings with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy; European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso; Olli Rehn, European commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro, and European commission vice president; and European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier. 

President Obama is nominating Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove to be the top U.S. commander in Europe and NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Thursday that Breedlove would be tapped for the new role after former U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen passed on it earlier this year.

Breedlove would replace Adm. James Stavridis, who has been head of U.S. European Command since summer 2009.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday in hopes of convincing her to import liquefied natural gas from the United States.

Ryan touted U.S. natural gas as a way to wean Germany off natural gas from Russia, which is Germany's largest supplier. 

“[W]e had an opportunity to speak about the issue of our natural gas supply in Ohio. I believe she is very interested in increasing competition for natural gas and buying it from a strong strategic ally that shares their values, especially an appreciation for the rule of law,” Ryan said in a statement.

Supporters of expanding U.S. natural-gas exports argue it could have geopolitical implications by weakening Russia’s stranglehold on the European market. Russia often wields its natural-gas supply as a tool of political coercion against Balkan and Central Asian countries.

Secretary of State John Kerry is in France Wednesday to discuss U.S. support for the French intervention in Mali and proposals to arm the Syrian rebels.

Kerry was scheduled to meet Wednesday morning with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, according to the State Department. He also met with French business leaders and participated in a U.S.-France business dialogue during which a proposed U.S.-European Union (EU) trade pact was expected to feature prominently.

The visit comes as France and Britain are weighing whether to press the European Union to end its embargo on arms shipments to Syrian rebels when EU sanctions on Syria come up for renewal on June 1. 

Business groups and lawmakers welcomed the official announcement by the Obama administration on Wednesday that it plans to start negotiations with the European Union on a deal that would create a $5 trillion free-trade zone. 

Top House and Senate lawmakers, along with several business groups, said a free-trade deal will lead to more U.S. jobs and a more robust economy.

Negotiations are expected to start no earlier than 90 days, setting up talks to start in June, which has been the target. 

In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis wrote that progression toward the talks "reflects the broadly shared conviction that trans-Atlantic trade and investment can be an even stronger driver of mutual job creation, growth and increased competitiveness."

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Your morning global affairs speed-read

Did you remember to wear green? The White House and Capitol Hill celebrate St. Patrick's Day on Tuesday, two days late. President Obama meets with Ireland's prime minister, Enda Kenny, in the Oval Office before heading to the annual St. Patrick’s Day lunch at the United States Capitol.

In the evening, the president and first lady will host a St. Patrick’s Day reception in the East Room. Transatlantic trade and immigration reform are expected to feature prominently in their conversations.

Crossing paths: Vice President Biden returns from Pope Francis's inaugural mass tonight; President Obama leaves on his goodwill tour of Israel and the West Bank earlier in the evening.

Aid to Syria: Senate Foreign Relations Committee members Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) unveil legislation this morning calling for more humanitarian and other assistance to the Syrian opposition and sanctions against the Assad regime. The bill marking the second anniversary of the uprising in Syria comes on the heels of legislation from Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House foreign affairs panel, calling on Obama to arm the rebels. 

Obama is headed to Israel for his first visit there as president on Wednesday. 

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will join Vice President Biden in the U.S. delegation to Pope Francis's Inauguration Mass, President Obama announced Friday.

President Obama said Tuesday that forging new trade deals should serve as a catalyst to job creation and broader economic growth in the United States. 

At a meeting of the President's Export Council, Obama said that many of the jobs generated during the nation's economic recovery have been driven by growing exports amid a goal to double them by 2015. 

One of the best ways to maintain that growth "is making sure that we get in place strong trade deals."

He argued that getting all sizes of U.S. businesses more access to these markets can "make a huge difference in terms of our long-term prospects."

The new Georgian government is on a mission to persuade U.S. officials and lawmakers to help stave off what they describe as a pending constitutional crisis that could derail presidential elections in the U.S.-allied Russian neighbor.

Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and his parliamentary majority, the “Georgian Dream” coalition, say President Mikheil Saakashvili is all but certain to dissolve the government right before the October elections and install his own people in power. They're urging the United States – a major military and economic donor to Georgia, with $85 million spent last year – to tell Saakashvili he needs to support a constitutional amendment that would make that impossible.

“It would not be a bad idea if the friends of Georgia, who are friends of Saakashvili as well, to give him this friendly advice,” Parliament Chairman David Usupashvili told The Hill in an interview. “It is what's best for his country.”

Usupashvili arrived in Washington Sunday and has meetings throughout the week with State Department officials and some 20 lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has long been close to Saakashvili. The president has vowed not to use his dissolution power but has so far refused to strike a deal with Ivanishvili's government.