President Glafkos Clerides, Finance Minister Takis Klerides and Foreign Affairs Minister Ioannis Cassoulides are currently in Lisbon to attend the informal Summit Meeting of the EU. For the first time, candidate countries have been invited to participate in the Summit.

Mr. Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission outlined the main aims for the Barcelona European Council during a press conference earlier this week, which include:
Firstly, really opening up the energy markets so that the European Union is seen to have acted towards reducing energy costs so firms can do business and to benefit consumers while maintaining an affordable service for all.
Secondly, the European Council must agree to keep to the Financial Services Action Plan. It will enable the Union to achieve full integration of the market by 2005. It involves adopting a set of directives and regulations this year
Third, the European Council must make a strong commitment to develop its employment policies, particularly active labour market policies.
Lastly, the European Council must agree how to make overall economic policy more coherent and transparent. It already has instruments for co-ordinating these policies, but they must be made more effective. Above all, there is a need for a set of common rules or standards on national budget policies, following which an economic policy can be established that is more consistent and predictable throughout the euro zone.