EU Commission president Barroso speaks at Pitt

Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Union Commission, called for increased… Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Union Commission, called for increased cooperation between the United States and the European Union in a lecture today in Alumni Hall.

To recover from the recent economic crisis, Barroso said that a close partnership between America and the European Union was necessary to tighten financial regulations.

The G-20, for which Barroso is in town, has also been a step forward for world governance, and an acknowledgment of globalization.

Barroso said that no financial entity should be beyond some kind of regulation. He blamed the crisis that nearly sent global economies into freefall on a lack of regulation on financial institutions and a show of unprecedented greed by the market.

“I defend open markets, but as an open society needs the rule of law, open markets also need rules.” Barroso said. He called for “smart regulation” of financial markets.

Chancellor Mark Nordenberg awarded Barroso a honorary doctorate in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh during the luncheon.