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Brussels, Belgium.  The Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu said, during a meeting with the local Basque community in Brussels, he had chosen this place as the destination for his first official visit outside the Basque Country and Spain because Brussels is “the heart of Europe.”  The meeting between the Lehendakari and the local Basques took place at the headquarters of the Delegation of the Basque Government in the European capital and was attended by various European Parliament-elected members, like Izaskun Bilbao and Carlos Iturgaiz, as well as representatives form the Brussels Basque Center, Bruselako Euskal Etxea.  Also in attendance were the Secretary General of the Basque Government’s Foreign Action, Marian Elorza and the Delegate of Euskadi in Brussels, Marta Marin.

Iñigo Urkullu stressed that “Euskadi is looking at Europe because there is no other way to respond to the challenges of the twenty-first century outside of Europe.”  In addition, the Lehendakari assured that the main challenge of his administration is to escape the crisis “through rigorous management and stimulus measures for economic activity.”  Urkullu also stressed that Euskadi has the opportunity to “build a future of peace and coexistence,” for which the Lehendakari expected to count on the support of European institutions.

In the morning, Urkullu had also been received by the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, with whom he spoke about the economic and political situation of Euskadi.  Afterwards, he met with Jaoquin Almunia, vice president, and European Commissioner of Internal Affairs, Cecilia Malmstron, with whom he discussed the current situation in the Basque Country.  Today his trip will conclude with a meeting with Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council.