Barack Obama's decision to skip a Spring EU-US summit comes under further scrutiny, with the Irish Times reporting on attempts by EU leaders to downplay the apparent snub.
Washington's announcement earlier this week that the president would not be attending the meeting, scheduled for May in Madrid, has, says the paper been widely interpreted as a sign of US displeasure with the EU’s policies on trade, Afghanistan and the environment.
The move has also raised fresh concerns over the EU's faltering new structures, implemented under the Lisbon treaty, which rather than providing the US with a single point of contact, are causing widespread confusion.
However the paper adds that EU officials are playing down Obama’s decision as simply a scheduling matter, with a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton reported as saying, "It’s not a snub to the EU, it’s not a declaration of failure."
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