José Manuel Barroso comes to Chisinau accompanied by other European officials

The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso will arrive at the Chisinau International Airport by a specially rented plane today, November 29. He comes to Moldova for the first time, at the invitation of Prime Minister Vlad Filat, Info-Prim Neo reports. The plane is to land at 20.15. Vlad Filat and a number of Cabinet members will meet the high-ranking official at the airport. According to the Government’s press service, a traditional meeting ceremony will be staged for José Manuel Barroso, with the presidential orchestra and bread and salt. The President of the European Commission will be accompanied by Luis Felipe Fernández de la Peña, the new Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia in the European External Action Service. His visit coincides with the visit of the European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule. The main events within the visit will take place on November 30. In the morning, José Manuel Barroso will have a meeting with Vlad Filat. Afterward, the two officials will give a joint news conference. Immediately after that, the European official will meet with Speaker Marian Lupu and the leaders of parliamentary groups and then with members of the EU Delegation to Moldova. At 11.10, José Manuel Barroso will deliver a public speech at the National Palace “Nicolae Sulac”. Later, he will have a meeting with President Nicolae Timofti. The European Commission President will leave at 13.45 on November 30. Jose Manuel Barroso is a jurist specialized in international relations. He was minister of foreign affairs of Portugal between 1991 and 1995. On June 29, 2004, he was named President of the European Commission by a unanimous vote of the executives of the then 25 member states of the European Union. Barroso was reelected for the 2009-2014 mandate of the European Parliament.