Washington - President Barack Obama on Monday stressed the importance of close cooperation and avoiding protectionism between the United States and European Union as their economies embark on a slow and painstaking recovery. During a White House meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, Obama said the world economy had stabilized but that the road ahead would be difficult.
"It is absolutely critical that we continue to coordinate when it comes to our economic policies (and that) we continue to shy away from any protectionist measures," Obama said. The 27-member EU is the largest trading partner of the United States.
Reinfeldt said the two leaders also discussed a way forward on tackling climate change, where the two sides remain at odds just six weeks before a critical UN climate conference in Copenhagen.
"We need to work together. We need to find each other in the process," Reinfeldt said of the stalled climate talks.
The United States has come under pressure from the EU and other countries to commit to stiff curbs on its greenhouse-gas emissions. But the Obama administration has been reluctant to agree to a strong global climate treaty without the backing of Congress, where Obama's fellow Democrats are struggling to pass a pollution-curbing bill.
The UN hopes governments will agree to a new treaty that can replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol when negotiators meet in Copenhagen in December.
