Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy has to date been careful when it comes to stating overly explicit visions with regard to the European presidency. His low-key profile is, after all, his biggest asset when it comes to scooping the post. But Thursday night behind the closed doors of a Bilderberg Group gathering at the Castle of the Valley of the Duchess, he finally showed his hand, says De Tijd newspaper. The Bilderberg Group is a circle of elite figures from the international political, finance and corporate worlds that hold annual invitation-only meetings. Van Rompuy told the elite club that the European government leaders are increasingly becoming proponents of Europe tapping off green income, so that the contributions of member states to the EU can be decreased. The economic revival will not suffice, said Van Rompuy, when it comes to eliminating the massive budgetary deficits in numerous member states. His assertion did not go unchallenged, and an Italian guest even put some tricky questions to him. De Tijd says that his pronouncement on a European green tax is already doing the rounds in the European capitals. It might rapidly become a weapon with which to attack his candidacy, the newspaper suggests. Van Rompuy accepted the invitation of Etienne Davignon to address the gathering because the discretion of the Bilderberg Group has attained legendary status, and what is said at its meetings has never leaked out. Van Rompuy was also asked what role the first president of Europe should play. He responded that Europe needs a guiding president rather than a leading one.