Smorgasbord presidency

On Wednesday July 1, Sweden will take over the presidency of the European Union from the Czech Republic. On 23 June, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrick Reinfeldt announced the priorities for his mandate at the head of the EU's 27 member states: to guide Europe out of the economic crisis, which has depressed trade and stymied growth, and establish European leadership in environmental matters in the run-up to the UN conference on global warming next December. The achievement of these two goals would be more than enough for a busy six-month tenure, but the Swedes, who do not want to be seen to be lacking in ambition, have also added some of their pet projects to the agenda: the strengthening of cooperation between judiciaries and interior ministries — the Stockholm Programme — and the adoption of a European strategy for the Baltic. In the spirit of good neighborliness, they also plan to move forward on the entry into the Union of Croatia and other ex-Yugoslavian republics, as well as the inclusion of Turkey and "possibly" Iceland. That is the easy part. But there is also the serious business of the appointment of the next European Commission President. The EU's member states may be willing to reappoint José Manuel Barroso for a second term, but the EU parliament will certainly want to be consulted — and as the newly elected MEPs do not want to be rushed into a hasty decision, they may wait for the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which will establish new rules to improve the functioning of the Union. If a "Yes vote" wins the day in Ireland, there will not be much time to manage the transition, and the Swedes may opt to pass the hot potato on to the Spanish, who are scheduled to take over in January 2010.