WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama embarked on his first trip outside North America on Tuesday, arriving in London for the G-20 summit. After the U.K., he heads to France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and then it’s on to Turkey.

The president will likely receive a rock-star reception abroad, as he did during the campaign, but with recent criticism from some European leaders — resisting the president’s call for more economic stimulus and increased troops in Afghanistan — Obama faces a crucial foreign policy test early in his young presidency.

The president will have a lot on his plate during the trip. It will provide a measure of his influence, particularly in reference to the world economy, Afghanistan, and the Muslim world.

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Obama has called on the G-20 nations to take bold action to right their economies, namely implementing robust stimulus plans and tightening regulations.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others aren’t exactly buying into the big spending.

“I will not let anyone tell me that we must spend more money,” said Merkel, head of Europe’s largest economy. Her comments Saturday were in response to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s proposed $2 trillion “Global New Deal.”

Merkel told the New York Times: “International policy is, for all the friendship and commonality, always also about representing the interests of one’s own country. … On an international level, we must all recognize that after the crisis we need to return again to solid financial policies. Otherwise, we run the risk of already preparing the next crisis.”

Spanish Finance Minister Pedro Solbes echoed her statements. “In these conditions, I and the rest of my colleagues from the eurozone believe there is no room for new fiscal stimulus plans,” he said, per the London Times.

And Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek went so far as to call Obama’s stimulus proposals a “road to hell.” (It’s worth noting, however, that Topolanek made the comments the day after he was ousted by his parliament after a vote of no confidence. Topolanek remains as prime minister until parliament finds a replacement.) Obama is slated to meet with Topolanek on Saturday.

The comments are a blow to Obama and Brown. The statements strike at Brown, in particular, who faces his own political troubles at home. He came to the U.S. asking for money and hoping to bask in the political popularity of the new American president.

For the full story at MSNBC, click here.

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