Finnish liberal Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen hosted the liberal Latvian and Danish prime ministers, the European affairs ministers from Bulgaria, Finland and Sweden, the ELDR Party President, the ALDE parliamentary group leader and liberal commissioners Siim Kallas, Neelie Kroes, Meglena Kuneva and Olli Rehn for an unofficial two-day summit on 6-7 April 2008.
The meeting was held in the town of Ruka, one of the most popular tourist resorts in Finland, in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
The goal of the summit was to consolidate debates between European liberal leaders and ministers around the most topical issues in EU politics. In particular, the debates touched on the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty and the liberal campaign for the 2009 European elections.
The agenda also covered discussion on the negotiations for a liberal representation at the helm of one of the European institutions.
According to Prime Minister Vanhanen: “ Europe ’s liberal leaders demand a sound and fair division of power in the EU. Liberals will be active in the negotiating process.”
“The liberal family must be present at the top jobs of the European Union” stated Annemie Neyts, ELDR President, during today’s press conference.
Please find in attachment the list of participants and some pictures of the Saturday snow safari.