"All the leaders and heads of the European states were shocked by the comments made by the vice president of the commission. I don't want to argue about this. Madame Reding has apologized for the very injurious comments she made, but all the heads of state without exception indicated that it was deeply shocking that someone should address themselves in such a manner with reference to the past, which deeply hurt all their compatriots."
Mr Barroso said that some excessive comments had been made, but it was now time to move beyond useless rhetoric.
Official figures in the United States suggest the number of Americans regarded as living in poverty increased by nearly four million in a single year between 2008 and 2009. The US Census Bureau says one in seven Americans is now poor. Mark Mardell reports.
The Census Bureau's figures for 2009 show for the third year in a row, poverty in the world's richest country is continuing to rise. The bureau says it's the most significant increase since 2004 and the sharpest jump in poverty since 1994. It indicates Americans of Asian origin are the richest, black people the poorest. It's hardly surprising that poverty was rising last year as the economic crisis continued to bite. More disturbing are figures that have been released today showing more American homes were repossessed last month than at any time since the financial crisis began.
The major industrialized countries have agreed to cancel Liberian government debts worth more than $1 billion. The decision was taken by the group known as the Paris Club which issued a statement welcoming Liberia's determination to implement measures to reduce poverty and aid economic growth.