EU-US Summit in Lisbon

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The EU-US Summit will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, tomorrow, November 20. The EU will be represented by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, assisted by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. The United States will be represented by President Barack Obama assisted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This will be the first EU-US Summit since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.

Discussions will focus on global challenges such as the economic recovery, climate change, security and development cooperation. A range of foreign policy issues such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and the Middle East will also be addressed. New impetus will be given to the Transatlantic Economic Council, the EU-US Energy Council and the EU-US Development Dialogue.

President Barroso said: "I am looking forward to a very constructive Summit with President Obama in Lisbon. Our substantive agenda shows that the transatlantic friendship is more important than ever. At the Summit, we will focus on concrete ways to boost economic growth and jobs for our citizens. For that, we need to dismantle remaining obstacles in our multi-trillion transatlantic market, cooperate more on green, clean and emerging technologies, and work even more closely on global challenges."

President Van Rompuy said: "This EU-US summit is an excellent opportunity to discuss the current global economic and employment challenges, following last week's G20 meeting in Seoul. I will underline that fundamentals of the economy of the European Union are sound, with respectable levels of economic growth, low inflation, a current account of the balance of payments in equilibrium, and improved prospect in 2011 for jobs. We have put in place the necessary instruments to overcome the current problems in the Eurozone. Tomorrow we will also highlight Transatlantic cooperation on security, in particular cyber security. Iran, Sudan and the Middle East Peace Process will also be discussed with President Obama."

For further information, please visit: http://www.eurunion.org

SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States