The European Union "acknowledges, much to its regret", the decision taken by the Chinese authorities, that asked for the postponement of the eleventh bilateral summit that had been fixed a long time ago for December 1st in Lyons. "The decision explains a note from the current presidency is due to the fact that the Dalai Lama has planned to visit some EU countries in the same period and meet the heads of State and Government and the presidents of the European institutions". The Dalai Lama has been asked to attend a meeting of Peace Nobel Prizes and is expected to be in Brussels on Thursday 4th December where he will give a speech to the European Parliament as part of the initiatives for the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. "The European Union state the EU’s executives , which had set out very ambitious goals for the summit with China, acknowledges this decision, much to its regret", while "it intends to keep promoting its strategic partnership with China, especially at a time in which the world’s economic and financial situation demands a close cooperation" between the 27 member states and the Asian country. The schedule of the summit included economic issues, regional crises, the situation of Africa. The summit has not been rescheduled yet.
