EU divided on whether to take detainees

BRUSSELS, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- European governments are divided over whether they should accept detainees from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center the White House is closing.

The International Herald Tribune reported Thursday that foreign ministers of the 27-member European Union are scheduled to give their response next week to President Barack Obama's decision to close the terror prison with a year.

"The reality is that we are divided," said one official close to the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There are a bunch of countries that want to offer something to the U.S., and there are countries that are careful and are not ready to jump."

Karsten Voigt, the coordinator for German-American cooperation in the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, said it will be difficult for the bloc to have a united stance on whether to accept detainees.

"We have been criticizing the U.S. all along and demanding that Guantanamo be closed," Voigt said. "Now that the new administration wants to do it, we either simply say it is a U.S. problem and Washington must deal with it, or we help to solve the issue."

EU ambassadors agreed Thursday that there would be no immediate pledge from the EU to accept all the detainees.