EU chiefs welcome summit with Obama
Barack Obama - Photo Elysee
(BRUSSELS) - The European Union's leadership cheered on Tuesday the announcement of a new summit with US President Barack Obama, months after the US leader decided to skip a previous meeting.
Herman Van Rompuy, the EU's president, and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso will meet Obama in Lisbon on November 20, the two sides announced in separate statements.
"Presidents Van Rompuy and Barroso are looking forward to this opportunity to meet again with President Obama to reaffirm the transatlantic agenda and advance EU-US cooperation on issues of mutual concern," an EU statement said.
A previous summit, scheduled for May 24-25 in Madrid, was scrapped after the White House announced in February that Obama would not attend it.
Obama's decision raised eyebrows in Brussels but US officials denied that it was a snub. White House National Security Advisor James Jones said in February that the EU was an "indispensible partner," and Vice President Joe Biden visited Brussels in May.
"The United States has no stronger partner than Europe in advancing security and prosperity around the world," the White House said in a statement.
The new meeting -- which coincides with a NATO summit in Lisbon on November 19-20 -- was agreed following an invitation from Van Rompuy and Barroso, the EU said.
It will be the first EU-US summit since the entry into force in December of the Lisbon Treaty, which made Van Rompuy the EU's first president.
"The European Union and the United States work together around the world to advance a common agenda based on shared history, culture and values," the EU said.
"The transatlantic relationship is unique in its breadth and depth and includes a commitment to advancing the ideals of democracy and human rights, fighting terrorism, and preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."
US-EU ties are "vital to global prosperity, and both sides are committed to cooperate in order to promote growth and jobs in their economies," the statement said.
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