Brussels, 02/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 2 July, the traditional meeting between the college of European commissioners and the members of the government of Belgium, which is starting its term of EU presidency, gave José Manuel Barroso the opportunity to restate his “100% confidence” in Belgium's ability to make a success of the European presidency despite the political and institutional crisis that the country is going through. The Commission president also called on member states to take advantage of the serious economic and financial crisis to take European integration forward, especially concerning economic governance, growth stimulation and the supervision of financial markets. Belgium, one of the founding countries of the European Community, is, from left to right wing, so impregnated with “European conviction” that it is “almost natural” to see it at the head of the Union, Barroso told the press after the meeting. Furthermore, Belgium knows and defends the “Community spirit and method like no other country”, which is very important at this “crucial time when we are living through a crisis of unprecedented magnitude and when we need more Europe”, Barroso added. Yves Leterme, Belgian Prime Minister for the everyday running of the country, confirmed that Belgium would support the “Community approach” and that it was in favour of a strong Commission that must remain the “driving force for European integration”.
At this “hinge moment”, Barroso is counting greatly on the Belgian EU Presidency to give impetus to the major work programmes underway, mainly that on economic governance (although the main role is for the working group under Herman Van Rompuy and the European Council), regulation of the financial markets (“over 20 proposals” should be adopted in coming months and “Belgian leadership” is needed to successfully carry out the process, Barroso said) and the implementation of the EUROPE 2020 strategy. Answering press questions about the fact that Belgium has made social policy one of its priorities, Barroso pointed out that the Commission would also present “a number of proposals, and some ideas”, by the end of the year. He did not omit to point out, however, that many member states are against the idea of carrying out social policy at European level. (H.B./transl.jl)