European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who represented the European Union at the G20 in Saint Petersburg, Friday said they "are pleased that the European Union's objectives for this summit have been broadly achieved." "The G20 has proven its worth, in the face of the major challenges the global economy has experienced over the last 5 years, as the world's premier forum for economic cooperation," they said in a joint statement. They stressed that the EU this year went to the G20 with a message of confidence about delivery of its G20 commitments and the positive effects of its comprehensive crisis response, which are starting to show. "The G20 finally confirmed the importance of open, free and fair trade as an important source of growth and development," added the statement.