Nigel Farage and next week

My favourite Member of the European Parliament, Nigel Farage, has been honoured by a special website: "Meerkats that look like Nigel Farage". I appreciate the creativity of the internet, when it concerns myself but even more when it concerns others.

On a more serious note, my next week is be packed with interesting meetings, first with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Both of us will speak at the UN Conference "Sustainable Energy for All" but we will also have a bilateral meeting to discuss global issues such as Rio 20+.

Wednesday, I will be in Strasbourg where I will speak at the European Parliament debate on the economic crisis in the Eurozone. I will highlight the importance of the Europe 2020 strategy as well as the necessity to haven EU budget through the next Multiannual Financial Framework that clearly prioritises growth. I have made proposals such as projects bonds for measures such as the Connecting Europe Facility, which need an appropriate financial backing. I expect that member states as well as the European Parliament to support our joint efforts in order to get the European Union out of the crisis again.

You can see that after the short holiday break, the next week will be discuss important questions of future development in the European Union and beyond. If I find the time, I will keep you up to date here on the blog and on Twitter with more details during the next days.

In Strasbourg yet again facing Nigel Farage

I was in the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday to discuss the conclusions of the last European Council and the Annual Growth Survey with the parliamentarians (I thank the European Parliament for the photo). During the debate, Mr Farage, in his usual exaggerated and predictable way, attacked European Council President van Rompuy and me:

You can see on video that Commissioner Rehn and I manage to ignore Mr Farage as much as possible. I have to admit he is hard to ignore. Mr Farage has all the rights to voice his opposition and I respect all opions, but his speech showed that while the European Commission, in cooperation with the European Council, the member states and the Parliament is working hard to restore confidence and to support stability and growth, some in Europe still think we can solve our common problems without a common European approach. I am convinced we can show that our approach is the better and more successful one!