European Commission

On the eve of the Christmas break, I want to come back on a number of major political events that occurred on the European stage over the last months. Irish people expressed a convincing “yes” in the referendum, allowing the Treaty of Lisbon to enter into force on 1 December 2009. The first ever permanent President of the European Council has been appointed, together with the High Representative of the European Union. And President Barroso designated his new team of Commissioners, in charge of shaping EU policy for the next 5 years…

And on a less positive note, the conclusions from Copenhagen were disappointing.

At a time of new and global challenges, I have been entrusted with the responsibility of a strategic portfolio: the one of Development policy and Aid cooperation. You might not be aware but the European Union is the world’s biggest donor of development aid; giving 60% of all the aid given by governments. The EU has set out the objective to dedicate 0.7% of its GDP for development assistance by 2015, which makes this task a very significant one. Eradicating poverty and progressing towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be the main objective of the development policy to pursue. It is important to ensure that the quality of aid continues to improve, focussed on real needs and concrete results, and that a better coordination between the involved parties is ensured. But Development is not an isolated policy. It is also vital to make sure that the development agenda is fully integrated into the EU’s wider international policy objectives, but also into a wide range of other EU policy fields, including Environment and Climate Change, Agriculture, Migration, Trade and of course Energy.

In this respect, I’ll be able to build on my experience with Energy policy. You may remember from a previous blog entry, that development has become a key element of our external energy policy, and energy is a key element of our development policy. This is why I visited Africa with my, then, development colleague Louis Michel and signed in Addis Ababa a joint declaration on the Africa-EU Energy Partnership that will allow us to work on a concrete roadmap to develop our future energy cooperation as equals.

But of course, development policy is much more than energy cooperation.

What is at stake is nothing less than a better, healthier, safer and more sustainable world. And I’m honoured to be given the opportunity to bring my contribution to this major endeavour.

Until the new Commission is approved by the European Parliament, I continue as the Energy Commissioner. I have also started to prepare thoroughly for the European Parliament hearings that should take place during the second week of January. If the Members of the European Parliament give their green light, the new Commission should start working as from the 1 February 2010.

In the meantime, I would like to use this opportunity to wish you and your beloved ones a bit in advance a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.