The European Union failed on Monday to overcome internal divisions on accepting inmates from the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, taking the gloss off Europe’s stated desire to use Barack Obama’s presidency as a launch pad for a better transatlantic relationship.

EU foreign ministers were split between some reluctant to help the US by accepting detainees from Guantánamo and others who argued in favour of a strong signal of support for Mr Obama. He announced last week that he would shut the camp within a year. Guantánamo – widely seen in Europe as a terrible self-inflicted blow to foreign perceptions of the US human rights record – threatens to turn into a European problem by testing the EU’s stomach for politically unpopular measures that may be necessary to reinforce US-European ties.