The European Union's incoming executive team led by former Portuguese premier Jose Manuel Barroso will meet for a second round of informal talks from September 17 to 18 in Louvain, Belgium, the European Commission said Wednesday. Barroso, who will take over from current Commission President Romano Prodi on November 1, was determined to be well prepared for the upcoming change-of-guard, said a spokeswoman for the E.C. "He wants to create the optimal conditions for a good start," the spokeswoman said, adding that the informal working session would also allow Barroso's team of 24 commissioners to prepare for public hearings at the European Parliament, starting end-September. Barroso also wanted to establish principles for the E.C.'s internal management, she said. He first held a surprise meeting of his team in Brussels in August, awakening E.U. officials from their traditional summer torpor. Since then, Barroso has been working in Brussels, albeit in an unofficial capacity, to prepare for his new job. The dynamic 48-year-old, former Portuguese premier impressed most members of the European Parliament this summer with his linguistic skills and promises of injecting new vigour into the E.U. while business leaders like his vows to boost the E.U. economy. E.U. watchers say past E.C. presidents have rarely spent as much time and effort in preparing for their jobs. They also expect Barroso to be a hands-on boss who will run a tightly-knit team of commissioners. But turf and personality conflicts with the bloc's foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana, expected to be the first-ever E.U. foreign minister as of 2007, are widely predicted.
