Yves Leterme: Time to get Europe moving again

One of the founding Member States, Belgium is embarking today, on 1 July, on its twelfth Presidency of the Council. How do you plan to make use of all this previous experience?

It is true that, not only in our own politics at both federal and regional level but also in our diplomatic service and throughout our administration, we have very many men and women with a profound knowledge of the European Union and the way it works. When it comes to the mechanics of preparing for a Presidency, we know the ropes. The key lesson we have learned from our experience is to be ready and willing to adopt a realistic approach to the European agenda and see that it makes effective progress. We draw support from our citizens' belief in Europe. The idea of Europe and European integration remain popular in Belgium.

How does Belgium intend to put its stamp on this Presidency?

I am struck by the way the rest of the world is confident of a better future. In Asia, for example, the energy, ambition, self-confidence and faith in the future are almost tangible. America still believes in itself despite its problems. The holding of the Football World Cup in South Africa has been a highly positive sign for Africa and is perceived as such, a real shot of adrenalin. Europe, on the other hand, seems to have lost its faith in the future. It is above all this which we wish to put right. Europe's confidence must be restored and the ambitions embodied in the European Union revived.

We have attached special importance to our preparations for the twelfth Presidency of the Council in view of the fact that we are at the end of a long 10-year period of transition, which was initiated by the Laeken Declaration and completed with ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. The Union has now been relaunched with a newly elected Parliament, a new Commission and new players, namely the permanent President of the European Council and the High Representative - Vice-President of the Commission. It is the Belgian Presidency's desire to implement both the letter and the spirit of the new treaty and to facilitate the smooth running of the institutions. That project derives from very specific ambitions, that of establishing good precedents in relations between the institutions and that of getting rid of part of the legislative backlog which has built up since the elections last year. Only collective action by the Council and the other institutions will enable Europe to overcome the challenges and issues of the day.

What do you see, Prime Minister, as the main challenges facing Europe?

The great challenge for Europe is to revive growth. We have to restore financial and economic stability and re-establish budgetary discipline without hampering the economic upturn, and find a way to achieve annual growth of at least 2 %. We need growth of that order to finance the social model which is dear to us. And we need stability and growth of that order to maintain our credibility in the world. Our political and diplomatic weight depend on us having a solid financial and economic basis. After the period of transition we have just been through, the time has come to get Europe moving again.

You have announced the programme of priorities for this Presidency. Could you comment on its five key features?

The Belgian Presidency's programmeis based on five key points: a return to lasting economic growth; social cohesion; environmental and climate protection; the Stockholm Programme for better cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs, and finally the external dimension of the Union.

With regard to the fiscal exit strategy and a return to economic growth, as I have already said, we need financial stability. A banking crisis which was not our fault has led us into a severe recession from which we are struggling to emerge. The European Commission has drafted a number of proposals for preventing a repeat of this type of crisis, which has such disastrous consequences for our Member States and our citizens. Belgium wishes to complete the new structure for the surveillance of financial institutions and for alternative investment funds, including hedge funds, during its presidency. These proposals must be put into practice as a matter of urgency.

Moreover, in October the Task Force will have its recommendations ready on budgetary discipline, the Stability and Growth Pact and economic governance. These are priorities for Belgium and, in close consultation with the Commission and the European Parliament, we will lend our full support to getting these recommendations implemented as quickly as possible.

To strengthen or restore social cohesion we must get Europe working again. We must eliminate the bottlenecks which prevent too many Europeans from finding work. We have to rediscover the road to growth, and the route that leads there is the Europe 2020 strategy for innovation and employment. The Belgian Presidency will base itself on the flagship initiatives announced by the Commission.

In the age of globalisation we must stimulate Europe to become a competitive, innovative, low-carbon, growth-oriented economy.

Social cohesion also means that we wish to take forward the debate on the social dimension of the Union through the issues of employment, public health and social protection.

On climate and the environment the priority will be to relaunch the Cancún negotiations and adopt legislation that will take environmental protection forward within the Union.

To extend our area of justice, security and freedom we wish to push ahead with implementation of the Stockholm Programme, especially in the area of asylum and the fight against terrorism.

With regard to external action, the Union faces the challenge of setting up its own global diplomatic representation network, which will contribute significantly to its visibility and its credibility. Belgium supports the establishment of the European External Action Service unreservedly.

Another important point is enlargement of the Union. Accession negotiations with all the candidate countries must be vigorously taken forward, and each candidate country must be judged on its own merits.

Explaining European issues to the citizen is often difficult. What communication tools has Belgium put in place?

Belgium makes full use of the new media and communication technologies. On 25 June I launched the Belgian Presidency website, www.eutrio.be, with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Steven Vanackere, and the State Secretary for European Affairs, Olivier Chastel. This official website will be the focal point for communication throughout the Belgian EU Presidency.

Citizens, be they Belgian, European or from other countries, are an important target group and have access to a wide range of information: photos, EU news and a calendar of cultural activities.

The website can be consulted any time, anywhere, via the mobile version. News and the calendar can be consulted via smartphone, PDA and mobile phone and the activities of ministers and their officials can be followed via Twitter. The "share this" function allows information to be shared and reused on social networking sites, via Twitter and "bookmarks".

Our diplomatic press services have also been reinforced, of course, so that all journalists' questions can be answered as fully as possible.