This morning, after a short and entirely constructive meeting, the EESC’s management board approved a new, four-year development plan. Thanks to a magician in my private office, Bernard T, the plan is genuinely the product of a grass roots exercise, generated through consultation with line managers, and has also been carefully articulated with the political authorities of the house. Why a plan? Put simply, we must think systematically about the future and plan accordingly. We know that collectively we have to face up to a number of challenges and we have to anticipate them, particularly from the resource-planning point of view. Thanks to the sterling work of Bernard T, we now have a set of objectives and actions, with lead services and targets clearly identified. In other words, we have equipped ourselves with an excellent management tool.