Brussels, 10/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso has paid tribute to Gérard Mortier or Belgium, who died on 9 March. Barroso said he was a remarkable man of culture, who had given opera a new resonance by connecting the timeless aspects of this classical art-form with the big challenges of the present day. Barroso said that on behalf of the European Commission and himself, he expressed his condolences to Mortier's family and loved ones. (IL)