I spent most of today in an EESC management board seminar devoted entirely to the issue of resources, particularly in the light of the current period of crisis and austerity. Where resources are finite and may be shrinking we must note the priorities of our political masters and plan accordingly. There was a remarkable spirit of collegiality and understanding around the table. This was heartening and displays, I believe, the maturity of the Committee’s administration. Yes, there are challenges, but we’ll face up to them together and in a consensual and rational way. We have a weather eye on technology – which has a habit of catching up and overtaking established working practices. If we could do away with paper in meetings, for example, or if machine translation were to reach an appropriate level of excellence, how the institutions’ administrative world might look different! In the meantime… And, yes, we honoured a minute’s silence, together with the whole of Belgium, at eleven o’clock this morning. Such a ghastly affair!