Europe can emerge stronger from the recent financial crisis, European Commission President José Manuel Barosso said at Friends of Europe´s State of Europe high-level brainstorming roundtable on 09 October, but to do so, it has to demonstrate a stronger collective will. “When it acts together, Europe is not just stronger internally but on the international stage as well,” he pointed out.
However, recent progress on the Lisbon Treaty following Ireland’s Yes vote comes at the same time that the role of European countries in global institutions such as the G20 and the IMF is under fresh examination. This is not necessarily a bad thing, said Charles Hodson, Presenter of CNN International’s 'World Business Today'. “Having more voices in the room does not make them more effective.”
One of the keys to coming out of the crisis in a stronger position is to embrace the concept of 'Digital Europe', said EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding. "We will only solve problems such as the ageing population and climate change through technology," she said.
The event was complemented by our annual President's Dinner.
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