Introducing Mr Cavaco Silva, Parliament's President Hans-Gert Pöttering said that previous Portuguese presidencies had been particularly "ambitious" in their scope and also that Portugal's history gave it a special position:
Pievēršoties Portugāles prezidentūras programmai, A. Cavaco Silva aicināja pielikt visas pūles, lai darbs pie jaunā, reformētā līguma tiktu pabeigts jau šajā pusgadā.