From 26-28 January, twenty members of AmCham EU’s Presidency Group, lead by Rory Macmillan from Nike, gathered in Brussels for a series of meetings with the key stakeholders for the incoming Belgian presidency.

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With the backdrop of institutional changes and an expected backlog of up to 70 pieces of legislation from the Spanish presidency, initial presidential priorities are expected to include: the Lisbon Treaty, the EU 2020 Strategy, Negotiations on Climate Change, the Stockholm Programme, Enlargement, and the EU budget. The Presidency Group addressed these matters in meetings with the Executive Director of the National Bank of Belgium, the Minister for Energy and Climate, the Minister for Economy & Reform, and the State Secretary of Mobility, among others. The Presidency Group also heard from co-chair of the Federal Advisory Committee on EU Affairs in the Belgian Parliament about some of the issues that are likely to face the presidency
 
As well as a full daytime programme, the delegation was honoured to be received by HE Howard Gutman, US Ambassador to Belgium at his residence for an evening cocktail in the presence of Belgian government officials and the business community, including AmCham Belgium Board and Patron members. 
 
For more details on the work of the Presidency Group and related upcoming events, please contact Sara Webber at the AmCham EU secretariat.