Barroso, Rutte discuss EU-Dutch ties

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso met here Thursday Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and discussed developments in EU-Dutch relations and the EU's priorities for the upcoming months. Their talks touched upon the next EU summit on 20-21 March, where the main topics will be economic, climate and energy and EU-Africa relations. "I commended Prime Minister Rutte and his coalition for the central part they played in steering the Dutch economy through the worst of this crisis. Europe has turned a corner and growth is returning," Barroso told reporters after the meeting. "Mark Rutte and I agreed that we must keep doing everything we can to maintain sound public finances and make our economies fitter," he added. On his part, Mark Rutte said the EU "will function better if it concentrates on its core tasks. That will benefit growth, jobs and stability. We both want the Union to do even more to highlight its added value to European citizens and companies. It can do so by focusing on the big common challenges and by reducing the unnecessary regulatory pressure."