The Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, should therefore make use of being in the driver's seat to efficiently coordinate the European policy agenda, something he already initiated successfully under the Spanish Presidency. This would also allow the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, to put flesh on the bones of the European External Action Service, a strive Liberals have supported throughout the process.

While each and every Presidency can find justification for its policy priorities, the six months rotation also prevented a coherent and sustainable implementation of important policies. In this, it is most welcome that the three Presidencies - The Trio - following the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty (Spain, Belgium, Hungary) decided to join forces and agree on mutual targets over a period of 18 months.

European Liberals encourage the Council President as well as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs to collaborate with the Belgian Government in order to come forward with detailed proposals on how Europe can make real progress in different policy areas over the next few years, in addition to tackling the most urgent questions for Europe to successfully weather the storms of the financial crisis. The strengthening of the Stability and Growth Pact and European financial supervision must be at the core of this agenda, as reported earlier on the ELDR website.