Federal President Joachim Gauck visited Brussels and Strasbourg on 16 and 17 April 2012. During his stop in Brussels he met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

On 17 April the Federal President held talks with the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and travelled on to Strasbourg to meet with the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz. There he also spoke with the German members of the European Parliament.

The talks, which provided an opportunity to get to know one another, focused on topics such as the financial crisis in Europe and developments in the European neighbourhood.

Following his inaugural visit to Poland on 26 and 27 March, this was Federal President Gauck’s second trip abroad since taking up office in mid-March.