"I am glad I can present to the Holy Father the face of today’s Europe; a region of peace and stability that has bonded together 25 member states under the same values and that never stops working for a better world through a process of dialogue and solidarity". José Manuel Durao Barroso, president of the EU Commission, explains in a few words the mood in which he is starting his journey to Rome, where tomorrow he will be received in private audience by Benedict XVI. "It is a meaningful event reads a release from Brussels since this is the very first meeting between the Holy Father and president Barroso", during which "the discussion will include the future of Europe and the continuation of the process of dialogue between the different religions and cultures" of the continent. Just after the meeting with the Pope, Barroso will meet archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, secretary of the Holy See for Foreign Relations. The Vatican and the EU have had diplomatic contacts since 1970. In the release, the Commission states that "the Holy See has supported the establishment of the European community since the very start and the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, which began in April the same year, attaches great importance to European issues".
