ELDR President Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck MEP

Although not fully enthusiastic about Barroso’s political programme for the presidency of the European Commission, described by Annemie Neyts, President of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) as being “a bit wooly”, Neyts admitted that Barroso’s presentation of his priorities for the next 5 years at yesterdays ALDE Group meeting “was excellent, very straight to the point”. (more…)

Cecilia Malmström, Minister of European Affairs (Sweden)

It’s 1 July, the first day of the Swedish presidency of the European Union. I’m looking forward to some challenging and exciting six months, that will require a lot of hard work and creative leadership.

It’s no secret that Sweden will be leading Europe in a difficult time. The European Union is facing a number of challenges, and the presidency will work under very specific conditions. But we are not afraid of taking up the challenge. The presidency’s ambition is to achieve results on a range of issues where citizens expect the Union to deliver. While working to create better conditions for growth and jobs, we will also need to unite the world in the struggle against climate change. (more…)

ELDR President Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck

Dear Mr. Nyrup Rasmussen, dear European Socialists, Thank you for your letter. You are surprised about our commitment to the Single Market. You should not be. Liberals believe that Europeans benefit from the Single Market. It gives European consumers more choice and better products. It gives European companies opportunities to grow and create jobs.

Do you believe that Denmark would be better off without the opportunities it offers? Would Danish consumers want to live without French cheese, Italian shoes, German technology or Finnish phones? Do you believe Danish companies would want to stop exporting their goods to the rest of Europe, thus risking their employees’ jobs?

The Single Market is not an end in itself for Liberals, but rather serves as the most efficient means to meet the citizens’ demands.

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Didier Reynders at the European Business Summit

Didier Reynders, as Belgian minister of Finance, you have been at the front line of the financial crisis. What do you believe is the most urgent issue that needs to be addressed now?

The financial crisis is not over yet. In the short run, the focus should be on restoring confidence and lending to both enterprises and individuals. Experience from previous crises indicates that one should act quickly to remove bad loans or distressed assets from banks’ balance sheets. Hiding the problems will only delay the recovery. (more…)