Six months later, an interim government stepped in, led by caretaker Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.
Germany and France's preferred candidate, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, has also stepped down.
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Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal group (ALDE) in the European Parliament, condemned the Russian letter earlier.
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Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian prime minister, is the favourite of France and Germany.
Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal group ALDE, said "the problem is not Europe - the problem is not enough Europe!"
Blair had appealed to the Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt not to talk up the issue of tax harmonisation ahead of his election.
The head of the parliament's Liberal group, former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, said the dispute with Hungary was not just a technical matter.
Awkwardly, though, the two front-runners Guy Verhofstadt, the prime minister of Belgium, and Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg will both be sitting at the table.
Guy Verhofstadt, the prime minister of Belgium, which currently holds the chair of the EU, expressed "deep shock and dismay" on hearing of the attacks.
Dutch MEP and Liberal group spokesman Guy Verhofstadt urged Mr Barroso to bring forward "concrete legislative proposals" as soon as possible to implement the steps agreed.
Rather than mar the Laeken declaration on Europe's future and sour the opening celebrations for the euro, Belgium's Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt ended the meeting without a resolution.
Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also took part.
No: Mr Prodi's people went out of their way to make clear that it was a deliberate snub to Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian prime minister and the summit's host.
ECONOMIST: The head of the European Commission is losing his cool
Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the liberal group, quoted Tony Blair from 2005, who had told MEPs that the EU budget should be based on "rational grounds" rather than "horse-trading".
France and Germany backed Guy Verhofstadt, Belgium's prime minister.
Indeed, the Blok might have done even better, save that a new federal government, led by Guy Verhofstadt, a Flemish liberal, has started bringing tax rates down and shaking the bureaucracy up.
And Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, indicated that MEPs could seek to block the deal while former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt said the cuts were "unthinkable" while much of Europe was in recession.
In Brussels, government spokesman Alain Gerlache announced that a high-ranking panel of advisers will help the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, to draw up a Laeken Declaration at the planned EU summit in Laeken, near Brussels, in December.
But former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who now sits as an MEP, said Britain was trying to have a "Europe a la carte" where it could "pick and choose" which parts of the union to sign up to.
Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, whose country holds the presidency of the 15-nation EU, said that Sunday's strikes were not aimed at the Arab or Muslim worlds and stressed the urgency of humanitarian aid for the Afghan people and Afghan refugees.
Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister and now leader of the liberal group in the European Parliament, is threatening to veto the 2011 budget altogether unless governments accept several conditions, including more financial independence for the EU in the next budget cycle.
ECONOMIST: Much stroppiness lies ahead in the EU budget negotiations
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Spanish premier Jose Maria Aznar were present, as were Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium, which currently holds the European Union presidency, European Union foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana and Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok.
The address received broad support from centre-right and liberal group leaders Joseph Daul and Guy Verhofstadt, who said that citizens wanted "more not less Europe", and called for the Commission to be more pro-active in coming forward with new legislation to promote economic growth.
"The political leaders of these countries don't receive help from other colleagues in the union that could lower their interest rates and provide oxygen for growth initiatives and investment, " said Guy Verhofstadt, a member of the European Parliament and former prime minister of Belgium.
In return, Tony Blair has extracted a promise from Guy Verhofstadt, his Belgian counterpart, that when the convention reports in 2003 or 2004 it will not come up with a take-it-or-leave-it blueprint, but will instead offer a series of options for national leaders to consider.
ECONOMIST: The Belgians, that is, now in the European Union��s chair
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