(EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - by Andrew Willis) EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels for an informal summit on Thursday (11 February) with a number of weighty topics adorning the agenda.
The morning's work session is set to centre round the bloc's attempts to write a new economic 10-year plan, with the aim of boosting competitiveness and creating jobs for the growing number of unemployed.
Over lunch leaders will discuss the current market turmoil that has racked weaker eurozone members in recent weeks, and in particular debate potential emergency plans for Greece.
News on Tuesday suggests Germany and other eurozone members are hatching plans to bail out the embattled Aegean state, with investors keenly anticipating an announcement on this topic after the meeting.
An EU source with an intimate knowledge of permanent president Herman Van Rompuy's current thinking told journalists on Wednesday: "It wouldn't surprise me if there was a communication on this subject."
All eyes will also be on Mr Van Rompuy himself, keenly assessing whether the meek-mannered former Belgian prime minister is capable of tackling the multitude of difficult problems and stamping his mark on the new EU post, created under the Lisbon Treaty.
2020 Agenda
In a presentation to EU leaders, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will highlight the devastation caused to the European economy by the financial crisis and subsequent recession.
He will suggest three broad EU objectives that should be agreed if Europe is to return to sufficient and sustainable growth. These include the need to boost research and development in order to step up the bloc's productivity, educational reform to help citizens find jobs, and measures to promote greener growth.
After Thursday's meeting, leaders are likely to agree on the three objectives at their regular March European Summit, before they are then broken down into variable national targets over the rest of the year.
The bloc's current economic plan, the Lisbon Strategy, due to expire in December, has been widely lambasted for its failure to ensure national governments keep to their promises. How likely EU leaders are to agree to stronger enforcement mechanisms this time round is a point of debate.
"The outcome is still very open," Fabian Zuleeg, chief economist with the European Policy Centre think tank, told EUobserver. "Until recently member states didn't have much stomach for better implementation mechanisms but the Greece situation is changing that."
With many member states set to run deficits for several years to come, Mr Zuleeg said tying reporting obligations under the EU's deficit procedure with 2020 national targets would be one method of securing better implementation. EU sources suggested Mr Van Rompuy favours a system of incentives that rewards performing member states in some way, perhaps with a greater share of EU funding.
Eurozone turmoil
With markets anticipating a statement on Greece, officials are aware that offering a blanket bailout without strict conditions attached would send the wrong signal to both overspending governments and investors.
Some analysts expect EU leaders to make a statement indicating that Greece will not be allowed to fail, but without going into the finer details of what form a bailout could take. European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet will also be present over lunch as the subject is discussed.
With plans for debate after lunch on an EU climate change strategy, post-Copehenhagen, together with the recent earthquake in Haiti, Mr Van Rompuy will have his work cut as he attempts to bring about a meeting of minds.
Doubters have questioned whether Mr Van Rompuy's relatively low visibility is appropriate for the job-in-hand, and even questioned his choice of venue for the informal meeting - the Bibliotecque Solvay in a central Brussels park - pointing to its poor acoustics and lack of side rooms for bilateral discussions.
However, the initiative to call the summit in the first place, and the weightiness of topics on the agenda, has directed greater attention to the Belgian politician in recent weeks.
One close associate said he had been using the last few months to get to know the issues of concern to different EU leaders. "Once the meeting has taken place tomorrow, the council will have got future work started ...and I imagine he will want to have greater contact with the press and raise his profile," the source said.