Obama to host European leaders' summit in Washington

The White House announced late on Monday that President Barack Obama will host on Nov 28th a summit in Washington for European Union leaders. White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement that Obama "looks forward to meeting with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jos{ Manuel Barroso, and High Representative Catherine Ashton at the White House to discuss a broad range of issues of mutual concern". He noted that the issues expected to be raised at the summit will include the global economy and "our efforts to strengthen economic ties and growth; our joint work to support democracy and prosperity in the European neighborhood, across the Middle East and North Africa, and in other regions; our continuing coordination on Iran; and our commitment to improved transatlantic law enforcement and counterterrorism cooperation". Obama will travel to France this week to attend the G-20 summit where he will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss financial challenges in the Eurozone. "The European Union and the United States enjoy strong relations and partner together around the world to advance shared interests and values", noted the White House. The most recent United States-European Union Summit was held in Lisbon, Portugal on November 20, 2010.