EU chief outlines global agenda

In a speech similar to those delivered by US presidents, Barroso passionately and eloquently addressed members of the European Parliament (MEPs) for 40 minutes at their parliamentary plenary in Strasbourg, France after a long summer recess.

To ensure the attendance of more than 700 MEPs, the parliament had earlier decided to fine those who failed to attend the event. At last minute, however, they made a hasty retreat, conceding that the idea had "damaged the reputation of the European Union - and indeed President Barroso".

Jin Ling, an expert on EU studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said there has been at least one solid reason for this degree of divided attention.

"The fact is that the attention was split for Barroso's speech and the meeting between EU finance ministers", Jin said, "which is also ongoing".

Jin noted that the speech aimed to address widespread discontent among the citizens of EU member states. "But at the end of the day it is still the economy that can decide the EU's development as a whole."

The speech to the MEPs in Strasbourg is seen as part of a drive to explain the importance of the EU's role in restoring economic growth. It is also a chance to review the impact of the EU's Lisbon Treaty.

Barroso, in his second term as head of the EU's executive branch, said the recovery "is gathering pace - albeit unevenly within the union" and that unemployment is "still much too high" within the EU.

While planning to roll out new industrial policies in the global context next month, Barroso stressed that the internal market "is Europe's greatest asset, and we are not using it enough".

In the areas of energy interconnections, research, and development aid, for instance, "a euro spent at European level gets you more than a euro spent at national level", the president said.

But Barroso said small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) "are being strangled in regulatory knots".

"The Commission has put proposals on the table to generate annual savings of 38 billion euros for European companies," he said. "Stimulating innovation, cutting red tape and developing a highly skilled workforce: These are ways to ensure that European manufacturing continues to be world-class."

In addition, Barroso said he would submit new proposals by the end of the month to tackle market speculators, whom many have blamed for worsening the financial crisis.

Meanwhile, Barroso said the EU should unite as one to have a stronger voice heard by other international players and that the union should become a "global player and winner" in various arenas, such as climate change negotiation; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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