The guest of the next issue of the Global Dialogue program is Jose Manuel Duran Barroso, head of the European Commission, who recently delivered a message on the state of affairs in the European Union.
Now the attention of the whole world is riveted to Syria, so we started the conversation with Barroso with this topic. He said that he was rather skeptical of the intentions of the Syrian authorities, who declared their readiness to transfer control of their chemical weapons to international structures. Barroso believes that to resolve the crisis, it is necessary to use all available political opportunities, but if they do not bring results, the international community must respond to the crimes of the Assad regime against its people.
One of the most serious negative consequences of the economic crisis for the European Union was high youth unemployment. The head of the European Commission spoke about special programs aimed at helping young Europeans looking for work, and expressed confidence that in the near future they will bear fruit. Barroso also called for patience in anticipation of an improvement in the overall economic situation in the EU. According to him, the right anti-crisis steps have been taken in troubled countries, in particular, in Greece and Portugal, structural reforms have been carried out there that will allow these countries to proceed with recovery.
Speaking about the upcoming European elections, Barroso did not disclose his personal plans and did not say whether he would run for a third term at the helm of the European Commission. He emphasized that two mandates of 5 years each are a long time, which has fallen for a very difficult period, and in the remaining year much more can be done. Barroso said he prefers to think about Europe, rather than about his career.
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