Brussels, 27/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - Pierre Simon, Eurochambres President, outlined his organisation's priorities for the future German Presidency of the EU Council to Thomas de Maizière, Head of the German Chancellery, in Berlin on 27 September. According to the European Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the future Presidency is mainly expected to anticipate the implementation of certain “crucial” elements of the European Constitution (extension of qualified majority and participatory democracy) and launch a campaign on the advantages of the latest EU enlargement by using existing networks, such as the Chambers of Commerce. “We urge the German Chancellery to already start planning the post-Lisbon period and to propose an ambitious multi-annual programme for the EU after 2010”, Mr Simon states in a press release. He also calls on Berlin to: - encourage Member States to upgrade their aspirations and set more concrete and more ambitious targets in the context of the Lisbon Strategy; - safeguard multilateralism in trade (the race towards bilateral trade contracts is “devastating” especially for small companies); - and intensify cooperation with Chambers of Commerce as decided at the 2005 Spring Summit, including Eurochambres in events such as Tripartite Social Summits.