Van Rompuy: Collective agreement among EU members is my task

EU President Herman van Rompuy on Wednesday made his first-ever official appearance in the European Parliament, explaining the decisions taken by the special EU summit on 11 february. This video has a selection of his comments before MEPs responded. UKIP MEP Nigel Farage responded with a heavy tirade against the EU’s first-ever president. EU heads of state and government have pledged to help Greece tackle its debt crisis, if needed. At a meeting on 11 February in Brussels, convened by President Van Rompuy, they issued a statement stressing both responsibility by the Greek Government and EU solidarity. The leaders expressed a strong political commitment to take determined and coordinated action if necessary. “This agreement is the expression of a clear political will, and it is a political message that we wanted to send out today,” said Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council. The meeting also discussed a new EU strategy for jobs and growth. “The European Council wants to take the lead in the economic strategy,” declared Herman Van Rompuy. The strategy would have a limited number of common and quantified EU objectives. 0:00’05″Exterior view of the EP building in Brussels 00:00’10″Herman VAN ROMPUY, President of the European Council entering the Hemicycle 00:00’15″SOUNDBITE Herman VAN ROMPUY, President of the European Council, speaking in English: “These new changes are all pragmatic improvements to the previous institutional architecture. But, taken together …