Swedish president, deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, president of the Commission and EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy are meeting with the President of the USA in Washington. This is the first EU-USA summit under the presidency of Barack Obama.

The summit is an important event ahead of the climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. The summit is also an opportunity to build on relations between the EU and the USA, with special enphasis on how the EU and the USA can work together in the world to promote peace, prosperity and democracy. The meeting will focus on climate change, the global economic and financial crisis and current external relations issues, particularly Afghanistan and Iran.

In connection with the summit, a new initiative for energy cooperation between the EU and the USA will be launched. The EU delegation will include Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana and the Commissioners for External Relations, Energy and Science & Research. The USA will be represented by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In connection with the summit, Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt, Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet to discuss current external relations issues.