Above: Haiti President Michel Martelly and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (Photo: OP Haiti)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti President Michel Martelly met Monday with Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, during his trip to Europe.

It was the first-ever visit by a Haitian Head of State to the EU’s Brussels headquarters, according to Rompuy, who took the opportunity to confirm what he said was a “positive” relationship over the years between Haiti and the EU.

The European leader pointed to several steps he said had been taken by Haiti’s government.

“This is the essential foundation for a new impetus to the process of reconstruction and economic recovery in Haiti,” he said. “I expressed to President Martelly the European Union’s appreciation for this effort, and encouragement to continue in this direction.”

The two discussed the need for a stable political climate in Haiti to promote international cooperation, along with the medium-term plan for the UN’s MINUSTAH peacekeeping force in Haiti, which calls for the establishment of a strategy for reforming Haiti’s entire security sector and strengthening Haiti’s judicial infrastructure.

Also in Brussels, Martelly held a working meeting with Jose Manuel Durão Barroso, the president of the European Commission.

The trip came after the President’s visit to the 22nd Ibero-American Summit in Cadiz, Spain this weekend.