EU-US summit in doubt

The European Union and the United States are likely to scrap plans to hold a summit in Madrid in May because US President Barack Obama has decided not to attend, EU diplomats said yesterday.

Mr Obama's decision is a new blow to the EU's hopes of boosting its global standing even though the president underlined the importance of relations with Spain and the 27-country bloc.

"The president is committed to a strong US-EU partnership, and with Europe in general.

There were no plans for the president to travel to Spain for a summit this spring," White House National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said.

A spokesman for the EU's executive, the European Commission, said efforts were still being made to agree a date for the summit. But EU diplomats said privately the May meeting would not take place without the US president.

"If there is no Obama, there is no summit," one envoy said. "We will now have a period where we focus on substance - on foreign affairs, energy security, climate matters - and we will organise a new meeting at the highest level when the political situation and the agenda make it possible."

Failing to hold the summit is a diplomatic setback for the EU and Spain - which had seen the meeting as a high point of its six-month EU presidency - and for Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, who visits the United States this week.

New EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had signalled the importance Europe attaches to strengthening ties with the United States during talks in Washington last month, and the EU had hoped to have two summits this year with Obama.

Mr Obama's decision was not totally unexpected because US officials have indicated he will travel less as he concentrates on overturning political setbacks at home.