European Commission

The president wishes all the best to Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton

“It would be impossible to have a better choice of personalities for European Union leadership” said president Barroso, commenting the nomination of the first president of the Council and the first high representative/vice president of the Commission. He considered the nomination of Herman Van Rompuy as a tribute to Belgium: “the constant support that this country, the heart of Europe, has been giving to our common project”. Concerning the former commissioner for Trade Catherine Ashton, “the only Baroness I can call Cathy”, he said that “it's also very significant that she comes from Britain, because we believe that it is so important that Britain remains at the heart of our project”. President Barroso did not forget to pay tribute to Javier Solana who has been replaced and to Fredrik Reinfeldt for his great leadership.

• Read the speech
• Watch the video [4'24"]

Helping public authorities to create employment whilst investing in the future: the public-private partnerships solution

In order to foster more frequent and more efficient application of public-private partnerships (PPPs), at a time when innovative public funding solutions are required to meet the challenge of limited national budgets, the Commission has adopted a Communication on exploiting the potential of PPPs. ‘If they are well planned and carried out, respecting the long-term public interest, PPPs can increase investment in health care, education and high-quality sustainable transport systems. They can help to combat climate change and improve energy efficiency. We would like public authorities to make fuller use of PPPs and use them more efficiently,’ explained President Barroso.

• Read the press release [16 KB]
• Further information on public-private partnerships

President Barroso very much welcomes the tougher target on greenhouse gas emissions set by Russia

Speaking at the press conference following the EU-Russia summit, president Barroso stated that "With the Copenhagen conference starting in just over two weeks, we have made very important progress today and I very much welcome the signal from president Medvedev today of their proposed emissions reduction target of 20 to 25%. I have instructed officials to work very closely with their Russian counterparts on all the details, because we fully agreed in our discussion this morning that this is a critical negotiation and we must succeed in Copenhagen. Both the EU and Russia have responsibilities to lead on climate change, and we need all players to do all they can to remain within the two degrees target. We can negotiate between ourselves on the numbers, but we can't negotiate with physics. Science must be our guiding light. I am confident that we can still achieve a meaningful result in Copenhagen."

• Watch the video [3'50"]

"Neither the EU nor Russia can deal singlehandedly with the questions that are now on the global agenda"

‘It is our joint responsibility to coordinate our efforts to boost the world economy, to implement the decisions made by the G20 in Pittsburgh and finally to reach an ambitious and overarching global agreement at the Copenhagen Conference in December,’ declared President Barroso on the eve of the EU-Russia Summit being held in Stockholm. International foreign policy issues are also on the agenda, such as the situation in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, non-proliferation, Iran, the Corfu Process and the unresolved conflicts affecting their common neighbours, as well as bilateral questions – in particular the state of progress in negotiations towards concluding a new agreement between the EU and Russia.

• Read the press release

"Like the battle against climate change, the fight against hunger cannot wait"

"We need to provide for food security what the Inter-Governmental Panel has given to the battle against climate change – a science-based early warning system for the planet," said president Barroso, stressing the link between food security, climate change and global security. The EU is by far the largest donor to the FAO. And the commission, which is a full member of the FAO, is the largest extra-budgetary donor. The FAO was one of the main beneficiaries of the EU's €1 billion food facility proposed by president Barroso and approved in December 2008 by the EU Council. Earlier this week, president Barroso met with the secretary general of the FAO, Mr Diouf, and underlined that sustained funding and targeted investment are needed to improve long term food security. "But investment must be complemented by sound governance."

• Read the speech
• Watch the video [3'42"]

Improving prevention and management in the event of an energy crisis between EU and Russia

As agreed by the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso and the president of the Russian Federation, Dimitri Medvedev, during the last EU-Russia summit in Khabarovsk, the EU and Russia have strengthened current dispositions under the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue to prevent and manage potential energy crises, with an enhanced early warning mechanism. Energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs and the Russian minister for Energy, Sergei Shmatko, signed a memorandum on an early warning mechanism in Moscow on Monday that includes a clear definition of the circumstances that would trigger the activation of the mechanism, in terms of what constitutes a "significant disruption of supplies", be it due to maintenance of relevant infrastructure, accidents, or commercial disputes.

• Further information [9 KB]

Hunger in the world: a scourge to be eliminated

‘Even the best and most modern financial policies will be in vain if the governments of developed countries do not meet their commitments by making available budgets and by making high-quality investments in agriculture at global level,’ declared President Barroso in a panel discussion published in various media prior to the World Summit on Food Security at which he will speak personally this afternoon in Rome. ‘We are now all faced with a setback in combating global hunger,’ he continued, ‘given that more than one billion people in the world still do not have enough food to satisfy their basic daily nutritional requirements, and the situation is getting worse in developing countries.’

• Read the article [17 KB]

The president wishes all the best to Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton

“It would be impossible to have a better choice of personalities for European Union leadership” said president Barroso, commenting the nomination of the first president of the Council and the first high representative/vice president of the Commission. He considered the nomination of Herman Van Rompuy as a tribute to Belgium: “the constant support that this country, the heart of Europe, has been giving to our common project”. Concerning the former commissioner for Trade Catherine Ashton, “the only Baroness I can call Cathy”, he said that “it's also very significant that she comes from Britain, because we believe that it is so important that Britain remains at the heart of our project”. President Barroso did not forget to pay tribute to Javier Solana who has been replaced and to Fredrik Reinfeldt for his great leadership.

• Read the speech
• Watch the video [4'24"]

President Barroso very much welcomes the tougher target on greenhouse gas emissions set by Russia

Speaking at the press conference following the EU-Russia summit, president Barroso stated that "With the Copenhagen conference starting in just over two weeks, we have made very important progress today and I very much welcome the signal from president Medvedev today of their proposed emissions reduction target of 20 to 25%. I have instructed officials to work very closely with their Russian counterparts on all the details, because we fully agreed in our discussion this morning that this is a critical negotiation and we must succeed in Copenhagen. Both the EU and Russia have responsibilities to lead on climate change, and we need all players to do all they can to remain within the two degrees target. We can negotiate between ourselves on the numbers, but we can't negotiate with physics. Science must be our guiding light. I am confident that we can still achieve a meaningful result in Copenhagen."

• Watch the video [3'50"]

"Like the battle against climate change, the fight against hunger cannot wait"

"We need to provide for food security what the Inter-Governmental Panel has given to the battle against climate change – a science-based early warning system for the planet," said president Barroso, stressing the link between food security, climate change and global security. The EU is by far the largest donor to the FAO. And the commission, which is a full member of the FAO, is the largest extra-budgetary donor. The FAO was one of the main beneficiaries of the EU's €1 billion food facility proposed by president Barroso and approved in December 2008 by the EU Council. Earlier this week, president Barroso met with the secretary general of the FAO, Mr Diouf, and underlined that sustained funding and targeted investment are needed to improve long term food security. "But investment must be complemented by sound governance."

• Read the speech
• Watch the video [3'42"]

How I intend the next Commission to take Europe forward towards EU 2020

“We need to put innovation and creativity at the heart of tomorrow's policies,” stated president Barroso during the press conference on the European Manifesto for Creativity and Innovation. He was happy to see a convergence between the Manifesto and the EU 2020 strategy, as mentioned in his political guidelines for the next Commission. “Knowledge, reinventing education and developing broad research, promoting innovation policies and greening the economy are at the core of this EU 2020 strategy,” he explained. He also mentioned two cross-cutting issues: the need to have sound public finances in an age of demographic change and the need for financial markets to be motors of long-term investment, “not casinos were a few players take all the winnings and the rest of us pay for the losses.” He announced that the commission would in the next few weeks publish a working paper for consultation on the EU 2020.

• Read speech
• Watch the video [2'59"]

“Working in tandem with the future President of the European Council because that partnership will make all the difference”

“It is not for me to comment on the candidates for the Presidency of the European Council. But as EC President and looking at institutional matters, I very much hope that the Heads of State and Government will select a personality that can provide effective leadership to the European Council,” said president Barroso at the European Parliament, during a debate on the results of the October European Council. He also gave details on the High Representative and the next college.

• Read the speech
• Information on the consultation launched by the EC on the Citizen's Initiative ― a first concrete step in the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty
• Watch the video [3'40"]

European commission president welcomes Brazil's leadership on climate change

"I welcome the commitment made by Brazil to reduce emissions around 40% by 2020. With this decision, Brazil is amongst the first of the major emerging countries to make such a pledge. This is a potentially decisive step to achieve a global deal in Copenhagen in December and to succeed in the fight against climate change."

Video message by president Barroso ahead the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall

"For me, the pecking of holes in the Berlin wall in November 1989 echoed the music of freedom that I got used to listen to only a few years before" said president Barroso in reference to the revolution in his own country, Portugal. For me, in 1989 not just the wall collapsed, but a world of ideology and oppression. The iron curtain had cut Europe into two –its dismantling in 1989 was the start of making it one. The past five years as Commission president I dedicated a huge effort into making this enlarged European Union work. (…) Now we have to work hand in hand to tear down the last remains of the wall that still persist in Europe. Let's remove them, brick by brick, like the long chain of dominos that we will topple tonight in Berlin.

• Watch the full video message [02'21"]

It's now absolutely clear that the Lisbon Treaty will enter into force soon

President Barroso welcomed that president Klaus has taken the crucial step of signing the instrument of ratification on the Treaty of Lisbon in the Czech Republic. "It's now absolutely clear that the Lisbon Treaty will enter into force soon", he commented. “At this point in time, I want to pay tribute to all those who have worked hard in the 27 member states to make the Lisbon Treaty a reality. The road is now open for the consultations on the appointment of the president of the European Council and vice-president of the Commission / high representative to begin. This will in turn allow me to start the process of nominating the new Commission.”

Message of congratulation after the re-election of Angela Merkel as German chancellor

President Barroso sent a message of congratulation to Mrs Angela Merkel after her re-election as federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. "I thank you for your continuous commitment to the European idea and your active contribution to the integration of the enlarged European Union. I wish you personally and the new federal government every success in the accomplishment of the challenging tasks ahead. I am looking forward to pursuing the excellent cooperation between Germany and the European Commission also in the next years. Today, this cooperation is more important than ever in order to let Europe and therefore also Germany emerge stronger from the current economic and financial crisis. With your help we will succeed in building a prosperous, secure and sustainable future for all Europeans."

• Read the statement [8 KB]

Meeting with the Czech prime minister

During a meeting at the Berlaymont, the Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, informed president Barroso in detail on the new developments on the issue of the ratification process. "We certainly hope that no artificial obstacles are raised at this time, bearing in mind that the democratic approval of the Treaty by the Czech Parliament has already taken place", president Barroso commented during the press conference. "It is in the interests of nobody, least of all the interests of the Czech Republic, to delay matters further."

• Read the statement
• Watch the extracts of the joint press briefing [03'17"]

Helping public authorities to create employment whilst investing in the future: the public-private partnerships solution

In order to foster more frequent and more efficient application of public-private partnerships (PPPs), at a time when innovative public funding solutions are required to meet the challenge of limited national budgets, the Commission has adopted a Communication on exploiting the potential of PPPs. ‘If they are well planned and carried out, respecting the long-term public interest, PPPs can increase investment in health care, education and high-quality sustainable transport systems. They can help to combat climate change and improve energy efficiency. We would like public authorities to make fuller use of PPPs and use them more efficiently,’ explained President Barroso.

• Read the press release [16 KB]
• Further information on public-private partnerships

"Neither the EU nor Russia can deal singlehandedly with the questions that are now on the global agenda"

‘It is our joint responsibility to coordinate our efforts to boost the world economy, to implement the decisions made by the G20 in Pittsburgh and finally to reach an ambitious and overarching global agreement at the Copenhagen Conference in December,’ declared President Barroso on the eve of the EU-Russia Summit being held in Stockholm. International foreign policy issues are also on the agenda, such as the situation in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, non-proliferation, Iran, the Corfu Process and the unresolved conflicts affecting their common neighbours, as well as bilateral questions – in particular the state of progress in negotiations towards concluding a new agreement between the EU and Russia.

• Read the press release

Improving prevention and management in the event of an energy crisis between EU and Russia

As agreed by the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso and the president of the Russian Federation, Dimitri Medvedev, during the last EU-Russia summit in Khabarovsk, the EU and Russia have strengthened current dispositions under the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue to prevent and manage potential energy crises, with an enhanced early warning mechanism. Energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs and the Russian minister for Energy, Sergei Shmatko, signed a memorandum on an early warning mechanism in Moscow on Monday that includes a clear definition of the circumstances that would trigger the activation of the mechanism, in terms of what constitutes a "significant disruption of supplies", be it due to maintenance of relevant infrastructure, accidents, or commercial disputes.

• Further information [9 KB]

Hunger in the world: a scourge to be eliminated

‘Even the best and most modern financial policies will be in vain if the governments of developed countries do not meet their commitments by making available budgets and by making high-quality investments in agriculture at global level,’ declared President Barroso in a panel discussion published in various media prior to the World Summit on Food Security at which he will speak personally this afternoon in Rome. ‘We are now all faced with a setback in combating global hunger,’ he continued, ‘given that more than one billion people in the world still do not have enough food to satisfy their basic daily nutritional requirements, and the situation is getting worse in developing countries.’

• Read the article [17 KB]

President Barroso invites all heads of State and government to join him at the Copenhagen conference

President Barroso made a public announcement today that he is to participate, on behalf of the European Commission, in the final stage of the United Nations Climate Change Conference on 17 and 18 December 2009 in Copenhagen. The Commission will also be represented by the Commissioner for Environment, Stavros Dimas. President Barroso did not consider it of value to justify once again the crucial importance of the conference, and explained to what extent leadership would play a key role in the final negotiations. From this perspective, he declared: ‘I sincerely hope that all leaders will be able to participate.’

• Visit the Climate Action website
• Read the annual report on the progress made by the EU in terms of emission reduction as laid down by the Kyoto Protocol

Limiting bonus capping: a question of ethics

Before heading for New York and then Pittsburgh for two critical dates, President Barroso agreed to participate in ‘Internationales’, the politics show on French-language television channel TV5, produced in partnership with Radio RFI and Le Monde newspaper. When asked about the burning issue of bonus capping, he said that even if the Americans did not follow, Europe should take the lead. ‘It’s a question of legitimacy; I am in favour of freedom of financial markets, but freedom also calls for rules […] What is happening is so outrageous, it is really an ethical problem and I think that on this subject, if necessary, we will have to go it alone’. However, President Barroso refrained from making any predictions four days before the opening of the G20.

• Barroso, sole candidate
• The split in the socialist family [01'50"]
• Bonus capping [05'50"]
• The abandonment of the American anti-missile shield [07'00"]
• Climate change negotiations [08'15"]
• Barroso 2 [06'03"]
• Relations between the Commission and the Council in the context of the Lisbon Treaty [03'56"]
• Enlargement or deepening [02'01"]

Barely re-elected, the President faces major challenges

In the middle of a busy week which included his re-election by MEPs, an informal meeting of the heads of state and government, and a visit to Ireland, President Barroso answered questions from the Belgian television channel Kanaal Z. The interview, which lasted more than 13 minutes, focuses in particular on compliance with European competition rules in the Opel case, Ireland’s possible rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, and the relationship between José Manuel Barroso and Guy Verhofstadt, the new leader of the Liberal group in the European Parliament.

• Election for a second term [01'53"]
• Compliance with the rules on competition [04'38"]
• The Lisbon Treaty [03'07"]
• The relationship with Guy Verhofstadt [01'41"]
• The fight against unemployment and the popularity of the EU [02'15"]

Joint article by Mr Frederik Reinfeldt, Swedish Prime Minister, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

‘We are determined to bring European leadership to bear in facilitating an agreement at Copenhagen of which we can all be proud. There is no alternative. If we fail now, we are breaching the contract that all parents must make with their children: to leave them a better world. Let us turn climate change into a global opportunity in Aquila,’ the Swedish Prime Minister, Frederik Reinfeldt, and President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, write in a joint article. The article appeared in the newspapers in the 27 Member States on 8 July, as well as in Russia, Japan and Canada.

• Read the full article [19 KB]

Research: the free circulation of knowledge

‘We have made progress on the implementation of the European Research Area (ERA) with the adoption of a common vision for ERA 2020 aiming at creating a sort of internal research market in which researchers and knowledge can circulate freely throughout the 27 Member States’ - this was the conclusion and fervent wish expressed by President Barroso in an exclusive interview for the French magazine Innovation. During the interview, the President also underlined the importance of developing education, innovation and research so that Europe can remain competitive at international level, and referred to the success of the Seventh Framework Programme for R&D, the annual budget of which doubled between 2007 and 2013. This increase will benefit ‘priority areas of actions such as the environment, energy or nanotechnologies’.

• Read the interview [112 KB]

It is easy to say, ‘It is Brussels’ fault’

'For the sake of national political interests, it is easier to point one’s finger at those who are furthest away', states President Barroso in an interview given to the French daily newspaper, Le Monde, less than three weeks before the European elections. Nevertheless, according to opinion polls, he notes, 'there is greater confidence in European institutions than in national political parties and certain governments.’ Taking the economic crisis as an example, he reminds us that Europe reacted well: ‘We managed to avoid a European Lehman Brothers, despite our financial system being on the verge of collapse’. Later, when questioned about the parliamentary elections and the possibility of running for a new term as president, he declares that he wishes to make his decision after the elections on the basis of the support he receives from the Member States and the Parliament. Emphasising that the European Commission ‘is political, but not partisan', he equally denounces the ultra-political vision of the Commission which may prevail in France.

• Read the interview [2.7 MB]

Barroso presents his political guidelines for the next mandate: a partnership for progress with the European Parliament

Today, president Barroso sent his political guidelines for the mandate of the next European Commission to the president of the European Parliament. The document sets out the objectives that president Barroso believes should inspire a political partnership between the Commission and the Parliament for the next five years. President Barroso said: "Europe is facing stark choices in today's interdependent world. Either we work together to rise to the challenges. Or we condemn ourselves to irrelevance."

• Political guidelines for the mandate of the next European Commission [900 KB]
• Read the press release
• Watch the extracts of the press conference [02'01"]

From financial crisis to recovery: a European framework for action

The European Commission, chaired by José Manuel Barroso, has approved a comprehensive EU recovery plan. This is the Commission’s contribution to ongoing debate inside the EU and with international partners on how best to respond to the current crisis and its aftermath. On 26 November the Commission will propose a more detailed EU recovery framework, under the umbrella of the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs. It will bring together a series of targeted short-term initiatives designed to help counter adverse effects on the wider economy and adapt the Lisbon strategy’s medium to long term measures so that they take account of the crisis.

• Read the full communication [45 kb]

Commissions responds to rise in food prices

The Commission has called on member countries to draw up a united European response to the sudden surge in food prices. "We are dealing with a problem that has many root causes and many consequences. So we need to act on several fronts at the same time to address them" Mr Barroso said, following the adoption of a communication outlining political solutions that would mitigate the effects of rising food prices on global markets.

• Read the full document [65 kb]
• More information

Boosting the EU's disaster response capacity

To rise to the growing challenges posed by natural and man-made disasters, the European Commission is recommending that the EU beef up its ability to provide civil protection and humanitarian aid both at home and abroad. "When helping Tsunami victims in South Asia, evacuating EU citizens from war-torn Lebanon or fighting floods and forest fires in Europe – we can only protect our citizens and help others if we act together in solidarity" said Commission president Barroso.

• More information
• Communication on reinforcing the Union's disaster response capacity [102 kb]

Lisbon growth and jobs strategy: continuing on the right track

"I very much welcome the European growth and jobs monitor's main message: that despite the decade long defeatism of the cynics - Lisbon is working" said president Barroso at the launch of the 2008 edition of the European growth and jobs monitor. This study aims to measure the performance of Europe's 14 largest countries in implementing the Lisbon growth and jobs strategy. It is produced by the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank.

• Read the full speech
• Read the full statement [16 kb]
• Read the report [250 kb]
• Extracts from the keynote address [3'15"]