12/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - Van Rompuy in Parma. In a speech delivered on Wednesday 12 January at the opening of the 2011 academic year of the European College of Parma, Herman Van Rompuy, the permanent president of the European Council, said that deep changes “await us, not only on the economic front but also on the energy and climate fronts”. Growth of the world economy, pulled forward by the emerging countries, will cause a shortage of energy, a shortage of food, and a shortage of raw materials. “This can easily bring about a rise in prices, if not a problem of availability”, he said. On the subject of climate, he added that the EU “should examine the question of whether it should, of its own accord, make a further step towards reducing CO2 emissions, independently of what the others may or may not be doing”. He also recommended an immigration and asylum policy that is taken more in common and is more sustained, given that the convergence of economic developments and convergence of economic policies “are necessary for consolidating the euro”. (L.C./transl.jl)