EU vows to pull weight on global stage

European Commission (EC) President Barroso said on Tuesday the European Union (EU) should pull its weight on the global stage in the future.

When delivering the first State of the Union address, which defines EU's work for the next 12 months, Barroso mentioned the five principal challenges that EU will have to face next year, among which the need for Europe to maximize its role in the world.

Barroso first called for EU member states to act together in an effort to be more effective on the international stage but also to build prosper relations with strategic partners.

EU authorities have drawn lessons from the Copenhagen climate talks and have grasped the need for Europe to speak with one voice in future climate negotiations.

EU is also looking forward to the forthcoming G20 summit held in Seoul in November. According to Barroso, the summit will be the occasion to achieve concrete results in the fields of economic coordination, financial markets reform and safety.

As trade is a factor of growth, the commission will present a renewed trade policy in October. In addition, Europe will support the Doha Round, which aims at lowering trade barriers in the world, and will also pursue bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements.

Barroso also illustrated Europe's will to be open to the world by announcing an extra 1-billion-euro aid to the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The president underlined the need for Europe to develop a real European crisis response capacity in case of humanitarian emergency, such as the floods in Pakistan, and to condemn "barbaric acts" across the world.

Finally, Barroso called for EU member states to develop a common defence policy, as it is an indispensable condition for Europe to have the weight it needs in the world.

Source: Xinhua