 France's president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy takes his first step into international diplomacy on Friday when he meets Tony Blair, the British prime minister preparing to bow out after a decade in power. The two leaders, both in their 50s, say they get on well and share views on many issues, including moves to introduce a slimmed-down version of the European constitutional treaty that was rejected by French voters in 2005. Important European Union and G8 meetings next month will form the core of their discussions, due to start at 1530 GMT, after Blair calls on outgoing President Jacques Chirac. "With Nicolas Sarkozy, you can anticipate the discussions will cover key forthcoming international meetings such as the EU, looking at the treaty, and obviously the G8, looking at climate change and follow-up to the Gleneagles agenda," Blair's spokesman told reporters. Blair, who will step down on June 27, took the unusual step of welcoming Sarkozy's election on Sunday with a tribute delivered in French and posted on the YouTube Web site. He said the right-winger's success presented a "fantastic opportunity for Britain and France to work together in the years ahead". Sarkozy wants a less ambitious treaty modernising the EU's institutions to be passed by parliament and has ruled out another referendum on the constitution. "I don't speak for Nicolas Sarkozy and obviously that's something they will be discussing," Blair's spokesman said. The prime minister supported an amended treaty rather than a full-blown constitution, he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom Sarkozy will meet next week after officially assuming his functions as president, has made reviving the charter a priority of her EU presidency. Sarkozy has stressed his desire to overcome the lingering suspicions caused by France's fierce opposition to the U.S.- and British-led war on Iraq and has made improving relations with Washington and London a priority. His recognition of the importance of the traditional alliance with Germany will be marked next week when he visits Berlin on Wednesday, the day he takes office. "For the chancellor, this is an extraordinarily strong signal of Franco-German friendship," German government spokesman Thomas Steg said.