This morning the meeting got down to work with keynote addresses from EESC President, Mario Sepi, Group II President, Georges Dassis, and the EESC member who had effectively made the Borzée sojourn possible, André Mordant (Honorary President of the General Labour Federation of Belgium). These were followed by a working session on the economic and social situation in Belgium and the EU, with interventions from a number of leaders of Belgian trade unions. Yes, this crisis is a tough one and it is far from over yet, but I can’t help but feel that Europeans are handling it well – certainly much better than they would have been able to do twenty years ago. And surely one of the reasons for that enhanced capacity is the mutual trust and confidence that has been built up through such processes as European social dialogue and, yes, through the Committee. Unfortunately for me, I had to leave before the end of the conference (see next post), but I sneaked in an early morning run through the beautiful forests under a blue sky and a morning sun and so came back to Brussels with a warm feeling from the lovely social and musical occasion, a strong feeling that Europe has reached a significant degree of maturity with regard to the management of crises, but also feeling refreshed and relaxed.