Past Event

Statesmen's Forum: A View from Brussels

Tuesday, January 17, 2006 5:00 am - 5:00 am

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt spoke at a CSIS Statesmen's Forum on January 17, 2006, delivering a major policy speech entitled "A View from Brussels." The Prime Minister outlined his plan for bringing Europe through its current constitutional stalemate, and spoke about the benefits of institutional harmony within a Union of 25. He further emphasized that "a common European defense policy makes the Atlantic alliance stronger and more efficient," and that "only the United States and a unified Europe together will have the authority to defend their values."

Guy Verhofstadt has been Prime Minister of Belgium since 1999. This is his first trip to the United States since 2001, and occurs as Belgium takes over the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Prime Minister Verhofstadt has recently published a book entitled The United States of Europe that has received praise for its presentation of new ideas for the future of European integration following the failure to ratify the EU constitutional treaty.

Statesmen's Forum: A View from Brussels

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