BELGIUM: EU presidency celebrated with the unfurling of a 300 metre flag in mini Europe

Record ID: 572322

  • Title: BELGIUM: EU presidency celebrated with the unfurling of a 300 metre flag in mini Europe
  • Date: 2nd July 2010
  • Summary: CHILD
  • Embargoed: 17th July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: European Union
  • Reuters ID: LVA3JTNOZ5LZAK3FE09UOGQEM6O5
  • Story Text: Brussels unfurls a 300 metre long European flag to celebrate the start of the rotating Belgian presidency of the European Union, which will be dominated by financial regulation and economic coordination.
    Belgium takes the baton from Spain's presidency of the European Union on Thursday (July 1). Whilst Madrid six months at the helm were largely taken up with managing the fallout from Greece's debt crisis and the knock-on effect on the rest of the bloc and on the euro, Belgium looks set for a less frenetic stewardship.
    But that will depend in part on whether financial markets give a breather to Spain, Portugal and other countries with high deficits and rigid labour markets, and whether measures such as EU bank stress tests provide reassurance or yet more angst.
    It will also depend on how efficiently Belgium can coordinate the work of 27 countries while operating with a caretaker government following inconclusive elections this month. A new government may not take office for months.
    It is not the first time Belgium has been through such a period of uncertainty domestically and it is not expected to affect its EU presidency. However, it could complicate planning of economic and financial meetings, since Belgium's stand-in finance minister may not be appointed to the next government.
    The European Movement unfurled a European-blue flag, more than 300 metre long, through mini Europe to celbrate the start of the presidency. There will also be concerts and fireworks over the weekend.
    Caretaker prime minister, Yves Leterme, will be in Congo marking its 50th anniversary of independence on the day his country takes over the presidency. He dismissed any concern about Belgium's commitment however, noting that as a founder member of the EU it had held the presidency 12 times already.
    This may be because the EU passed the Lisbon Treaty under Spain's presidency which has streamlined EU decision-making and put a former Belgian prime minister, Herman van Rompuy, in charge.
    It has also created a new common foreign and security policy department in the External Action Service (EAS) headed by EU foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton.
    Van Rompuy's intimate understanding of Belgium's turmoiled political landscape is expected to help ensure the Belgian caretaker government meets its EU goals regardless of any infighting at the domestic level.
    Particularly when it comes to "economic governance", a term which refers to EU governments working more closely on coordinating policies.
    Van Rompuy heads a task force of EU finance ministers who are looking at how to overhaul some of the EU's economic-policy architecture. He is due to present the findings of the task force in October - the same time that Belgium is also hoping to unveil its own plans for how EU nations can work better on economic policy.
    On foreign affairs, Belgium's presidency will leave the bulk of the agenda in Ashton's hands, with the priority on finalising the structure of the External Action Service, a new diplomatic corps being established to serve the EU's member states abroad.
    Broadly, Belgium's goals include passing new rules on hedge funds, the creation of new finance industry watchdogs, and an agreement on better economic cooperation across the EU.
    Months-long talks on hedge fund rules broke down last week, meaning a deal is now unlikely to be struck before October, but a deal could come as soon as this week on three watchdogs to oversee banks, the insurance industry and financial markets.
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