Brussels, 04/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - The informal meeting of heads of state and government to discuss the economy, announced by the new permanent president of the European Council in December 2009 (see EUROPE 10039), will take place in Brussels on Thursday 11 February. This date was confirmed by Herman Van Rompuy on his video blog (http: //vloghvr.consilium.europa.eu/) on Monday 4 January. “This is my first official working day. I'm preparing already the next European Council on 11 February. I took the initiative to convene this Council with the main theme: the economy. We need more economic growth in order to finance a sound basis for our social model, to preserve our European way of life,” Van Rompuy says. (H.B./transl.rt)