At 14.30 this afternoon the European Economic and Social Committee’s 483rd plenary session got under way in the Charlemagne Building of the European Commission. I always count my blessings at this moment. The machine clicks into place and starts to operate smoothly. The interpreting teams are in their cabins (including Croatian language interpreters this time), the voting machines and displays work, the 344 members’ places are clearly indicated, their documents are available at the distribution counter. The sessions service is in place and ready for the off. The EESC doesn’t have to travel to another city to hold its plenary sessions but, just like its sister consultative body, the Committee of the Regions, it does have to borrow meeting rooms to hold its plenary sessions (and thus saves the taxpayer a lot of money). And that means that everything I have mentioned above has to be organised and temporarily installed and removed again once the plenary session is over. That it all works is down in no small part to the backroom logistical teams that have installed and tested everything long before we arrive to benefit from their good work. So, as the session gets under way, I think gratefully of all the colleagues who have made sure that this can happen. The sessions always begin with a statement by the President and on this occasion Staffan Nilsson took the opportunity to comment further on the declarations made last week by José Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy about the future of Europe. Staffan concluded that ‘The EESC is determined to do all it can to contribute to the debate launched by the Presidents of the European institutions, and to put forward substantive proposals from civil society for this decisive pact for Europe. The nest stop will be the 10 October meeting of the ‘enlarged enlarged presidency’, where the President, Vice-Presidents and Group Presidents will discuss next steps with the Section Presidents…