Bush in Slovenia for farewell U.S.-EU summit

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - President George W. Bush arrived in Slovenia on Monday for his farewell U.S.-European Union summit at the start of a week-long tour of the continent.

With less than eight months left in office, Bush will again face the limits of his power to sway world leaders looking increasingly beyond him to his successor to be elected in November.

Tuesday's summit is expected to gloss over disputes such as climate change, though the final communique will declare a readiness to take extra measures against Iran if it keeps defying demands to suspend sensitive nuclear work.

The annual U.S.-EU talks will be the starting point for a visit that will then take Bush to Germany, Italy, France and Britain -- partners with whom he has sometimes had mixed relations.

Trans-Atlantic ties have been on the mend, however, as differences over the Iraq war that once strained the alliance and sowed divisions on the continent have eased somewhat.

Bush now has especially warm bonds with fellow conservative leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. But polls show Bush remains more unpopular among Europeans than he is at home.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, writing by Matt Spetalnick)