EU-US summit to be held next month

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will have the first opportunity to meet the new US President Barak Obama next month during a special EU-US summit to be organised by the current Czech EU Presidency in Prague in April.

The summit is being organised to coincide with President Obama's first visit to Europe during which he will also take part in a G20 summit in London and hold talks about the future of Nato in France and Germany.

Details about President Obama's first meeting with EU leaders were given yesterday in Brussels during a visit by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In a statement issued later by the Czech Presidency, it was announced that after consultations with the European Commission and the US administration, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek decided to invite the 27 EU leaders to an EU-US Summit.

The meeting will take place on April 5, right after the G20 Summit on April 2 in London and after the Nato Summit held in Strasbourg on April 4.

"The Prague Summit will address issues of global financial architecture and consequences of the financial crisis as well as issues of transatlantic safety and military cooperation. It will also engage in a debate of other foreign-policy topics, such as the issues of energy and climate," said the Czech Prime Minister.

EU Presidency sources said the EU-US summit would be the first occasion for EU leaders to "get to know better" the new US Administration and its policies.