In this interview excerpt, Mark Eyskens, Belgian Finance Minister from 1980 to 1981, Prime Minister in 1981, Minister for Economic Affairs from 1981 to 1985 and Minister for External Relations from 1989 to 1992, emphasises the role of intermediary that the small Member States of the European Union (EU) can play in major negotiations at EU level, and looks back on some initiatives taken by Belgium, particularly the proposal made by the country in connection with the negotiations that led to the signing of the Treaty of Maastricht on European Union.