EU shock as Obama snubs summit

European Union chiefs reacted with shock after Barack Obama said he would not attend a EU-US summit in May.

American assistant secretary of state Philip Gordon said yesterday that the president remained committed to strong US-EU relations, but did not plan to attend the summit because it did not fit into his 2010 travel schedule.

The European Commission in Brussels said it was not aware Mr Obama would not attend the European Union-US summit organised by Spain, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Spain’s top official for the EU presidency said it had assumed Mr Obama would join EU heads of state at the event.

Mr Gordon said Mr Obama attended last year’s summit in Prague and hosted an EU-US summit in Washington in November.

Mr Obama will make his first international trip of the year in March, visiting Indonesia and Australia.

The trip will be something of a homecoming for Mr Obama, who as a child lived for several years in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Mr Obama would formally launch a comprehensive partnership with Indonesia during the trip.

He also will mark the 70th anniversary of US-Australian relations and discuss Afghanistan and nuclear non-proliferation with Australia’s leaders.

In Canberra, prime minister Kevin Rudd called Mr Obama’s plans “good news for Australia”.

Mr Obama “will be in welcome company here in Australia”, Mr Rudd said. “It will be good to have him among us.”

He said he expected discussions with the president about US-Australian economic and security relationships.

Mr Obama also will make a stop in the US territory of Guam, where he will meet US military staff on the island.