Brussels, 28/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - In Washington on Monday 28 November, the debt crisis in the eurozone dominated the meeting at the summit between President Barack Obama and the leaders of the European Union, with the United States increasingly concerned about its impact on the recovery of the American economy.
The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and his counterpart from the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, met Obama at the White House.
The OECD has warned that the eurozone seems to be in “slight recession” and of the potentially “devastating” consequences of the crisis on the global economy. It has drastically cut its growth forecasts for the EU, but also for the United States, where GDP is now expected to rise by 2% next year, instead of 3.1%. This is very bad news for Obama, who stands for re-election in November 2012 and has come in for attacks from his Republican opponents about his economic performance, with unemployment at 9% and anaemic growth levels. (LC/transl.fl)