Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank Mr Verschueren for the kind invitation I received to address today’s conference. I see that you have chosen a question to launch the debate about your industries’ outlook. You ask whether the future can really be bright. Of course, we are living in difficult times, but I am optimistic: my answer to your question is a resounding "Yes". As you can imagine, I am fully aware of the worrying problems we have to tackle. But I am convinced that we will overcome the challenge. continua