Olivier Chastel: "Consulting civil society is good, but developing effective operational contacts is better"
![](http://www.eutrio.be/files/bveu/imagecache/node_main_img/Sepi20Chastel004.jpg "Olivier Chastel: "Consulting civil society is good, but developing effective operational contacts is better"")
The Secretary of State for European Affairs, Olivier Chastel, presented the priorities for the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council at the 464th plenary session of the European Economic and Social Council.
In the immediate future, the efforts of the Belgian Presidency will be directed towards enhanced supervision of the financial sector. “ We hope that cooperation between the Council and European Parliament will lead to the rapid adoption of initiatives so that the new financial supervision structure will be operational by 1 January 2011”, Olivier Chastel declared on the question of emergence from the crisis. Concerning economic governance, progress is yet to be achieved, notably with regard to overseeing national budget plans by the Commission before they are presented to national parliaments, the application of sanctions to Member States who fail to meet the objectives in terms of budgetary viability.
The Secretary of State then brought up the question of rekindling growth. The Belgian Presidency will continue to implement the EU 2020 Strategy through flagship initiatives, in particular those relating to research, development and innovation. “Every effort will be made to tackle bottlenecks and the symbolic standstill on the European patent”, the Secretary of State indicated. “This standstill, which has lasted a number of years, is jeopardizing the growth, innovation and competitiveness of European industry”, Olivier Chastel added.
Fostering social progress and the fight against poverty were priorities focused on by the Secretary of State. Indeed, “the Council will tackle areas for priority action, such as promoting green employment, the identification of market niches for older workers, combating all forms of discrimination in employment and the development of “flexible security”, the Secretary of State made clear.
Recalling the inclusive approach of the Belgian Presidency regarding organised civil society, Oliver Chastel declared that he remained at the disposal of the European Economic and Social Council to assess and approve the Presidency’s various policy objectives. “Consulting civil society is good, but developing effective operational contacts is better”, he declared.
