Sweden set to take over EU presidency

[FarCenter]

Sweden will take over the European Union's rotating presidency on Wednesday, after six difficult months of Czech leadership. Sweden's top priorities are climate change and restoring confidence in financial markets.

Much of Brussels will breathe a sigh of relief when Sweden is officially handed the European Union presidency on Wednesday. The end of the Czech presidency marks the end of six months of unhelpful sideline drama, as EU leaders struggled to stave off the worst effects of the economic crisis and dealt with issues such as climate change and the troubled Lisbon Treaty.

Sweden is taking over the job that most EU member states have voted to scrap. Under the Lisbon Treaty, the six month rotating presidency would be replaced by one president for a two-and-a-half year term. But the treaty still has a number of stumbling blocks, and in the meantime, Sweden has a busy schedule.

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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4441212,00.html

[Thrill]

1. Is Tony Blair going to be President of the EU?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. I hope not. he doesn't deserve it.

[FarCenter]

5. It will be Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt for 6 months

The Lisbon Treaty has not been approved by all countries yet.

[DavidDvorkin]

2. Whoever is the first EU president, 2.5 years is an awfully short term

The office will be crippled from the start.

[rockymountaindem]

3. Well, currently it's only six months long

so in that sense they will be fixing the problem of short tenure, at least in part.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. It's not meant to have anything like the responsibility of the president of a country

Even under the Lisbon treaty, it's not a directly elected post - the heads of state or government from each country will elect him/her. And it doesn't come with many powers. It seems to be meant more as a post for either being the visible 'head' of the EU, for public pronouncements and reacting to situations, and for trying to set a course for discussions and agreements.