STRASBOURG , France ( CNN ) -- President Obama on Friday called on Europe and the United States to drop negative attitudes toward each other and said `` unprecedented coordination '' is needed to confront the global economic crisis . President Obama delivers remarks at a town hall meeting Friday in Strasbourg , France . Speaking at a packed town hall meeting in Strasbourg on his first overseas trip as president , Obama said , `` I 'm confident that we can meet any challenge as long as we are together . '' It 's easier to allow `` resentments to fester '' than `` to forge true partnerships , '' the president said . `` So we must be honest with ourselves . In recent years , we 've allowed our alliance to drift . I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy . But we also know that there 's something more that has crept into our relationship . `` In America , there 's a failure to appreciate Europe 's leading role in the world . Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges , there have been times where America 's showed arrogance and been dismissive , even derisive . `` But in Europe , there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious . Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world , there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what 's bad . Watch Obama tell crowd he 's come to Europe `` renew our partnership '' » . `` On both sides of the Atlantic , these attitudes have become all too common . They are not wise ; they do not represent the truth . They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated . '' Obama 's comments came after the G-20 meeting in London , England -- which Obama called `` a success '' of `` nations coming together , working out their differences , and moving boldly forward '' -- and on the eve of a NATO summit in Strasbourg marking that organization 's 60th anniversary . `` I 've come to Europe this week to renew our partnership -- one in which America listens and learns from our friends and allies , but where our friends and allies bear their share of the burden , '' he said at the town hall meeting . `` Together , we must forge common solutions to our common problems . `` So let me say this as clearly as I can : America is changing . But it can not be America alone that changes . ''
U.S. president calls for `` unprecedented coordination '' to take on economic crisis . The United States and China have agreed that the global economy is in a ``new normal,'' with both sides pledging to work together to address growing risks of financial instability around the world. Obama : `` On both sides of the Atlantic , these attitudes have become all too common '' Comments come at town hall meeting in Strasbourg , France .