EU European Commission President Barroso Visits Pitt, Gives Public Lecture Feb. 10

PITTSBURGH-As part of a visit to the University of Pittsburgh's European Union Center of Excellence, José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission of the European Union (EU), will give a free public lecture at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in the Connolly Ballroom of Pitt's Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

"The entire University of Pittsburgh community welcomes President Barroso to our region and to our campus," said Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. "We are honored to have the president visit Pitt's European Union Center, which is one of only 10 such centers at universities throughout the United States to receive the prestigious Center of Excellence designation. Pitt is strongly committed to scholarship in European affairs, and we are dedicated to preparing students-the next generation of global leaders-to be actively engaged in world affairs. We are deeply grateful for the President's personal interest in and support of our center."

During his visit, Barroso will be accompanied by a party led by Ambassador John Bruton, head of the European Commission Delegation to the United States and former Irish prime minister. Among others in the EU presidential party will be Pitt alumnus Bill Burros (FAS '89), an advisor with the political and development section of the delegation.

The EU Center of Excellence, within Pitt's University Center for International Studies, is one of only 10 such centers in the United States given grants by the European Commission to fund programs that encourage EU-U.S. understanding. The centers promote the study of the EU's institutions and policies and sponsor community and regional outreach activities.

"President Barroso's visit provides an exciting and exceptional opportunity for our students: They will be able to learn firsthand about the EU as a historic experiment from a world leader who is playing an important role in European politics," said Alberta Sbragia, director of Pitt's EU Center of Excellence, Jean Monnet Chair ad personam, and a professor in Pitt's political science department within the School of Arts and Sciences.

As part of its mandate, Pitt's EU Center of Excellence reaches out to all colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia that have an interest in the EU. As a result, students from Carnegie Mellon University, Washington and Jefferson College, and West Virginia University, among others, will be in attendance at the lecture and the question-and-answer session that follows.

"This is a very interesting trip for President Barroso, because previously he has visited only the EU Center of Excellence in Washington, D.C. It will be his first trip to an EU Center of Excellence 'beyond the Beltway,' with Pittsburgh chosen on the basis of its outstanding reputation," said Burros.

President Barroso studied law at the University of Lisbon and then earned his master's degree in political science at the University of Geneva. Since then, his career has moved between academic and political life. He joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Portugal in 1980. Five years later, in 1985, he won his first seat in the Portuguese Parliament-the same year that Portugal signed the accession treaty to join the European Union. Once elected, Barroso rose through the government's ranks and became state secretary for home affairs. He was subsequently appointed state secretary and minister for foreign affairs, a position he held until 1995. When the SDP lost Portugal's general election in 1995, Barroso was nevertheless elected a member of that nation's parliament. He was elected prime minister of Portugal in 2002 and resigned from that position in June 2004 to accept confirmation as European Commission president in November 2004.

The European Commission, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, is the executive branch of the EU, setting policy agendas, proposing legislation, and promoting the common interests of the EU.

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