euro|topics - Slovenia assumes the EU Council presidency

21/11/2008

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Main focus of Thursday, January 3, 2008

Slovenia assumes the EU Council presidency

On 1 January 2008, Slovenia took the reins as official head of the EU. It is the first time that one of the new member countries is sitting at the top.

Turun sanomat - Finland

The Finnish paper congratulates Slovenia's expeditious development following the dissolution of Yugoslavia. "Slovenia just came on board in 2004, together with nine other countries. It has only about two million residents but is the most developed of the former Yugoslavian republics. It already is a member of the Eurozone, the Schengen area and on top of that, NATO. … Admittedly, Slovenia has a tough task ahead: the presidency of the Council is a big burden for such a small country. There is no question that the Kosovo question will be on the agenda: that's the EU's next, and perhaps even greatest, crisis." (03/01/2008)

Dnevnik - Slovenia

The Kosovo question is the most important challenge facing Slovenia during its EU presidency. These days, there is a lot of talk about what could happen if Kosovo becomes independent, writes Ervin Hladnik Milharcic. In fact, nothing will happen at all, he says: "Because everything that could happen, already occurred in 1999. That is when Serbian police and the military evacuated one million people from the province to Macedonia or Albania, in a co-ordinated action over a few days. Bill Clinton, referring to the promise of George Bush senior that the USA would not accept genocide in Albania, used military force to organize Serbia's retreat from Kosovo. That's when the province became independent, and since then it has waited for this status to be recognized formally. ... Fifteen years ago, Slovenia itself was called a danger to the stability of Europe, and there were fears it would lead the community to war. " (03/01/2008)

Die Zeit - Germany

"It's as if Hamburg ruled the EU," writes Alice Bota about the Slovenian presidency of the EU Council, going on to explain how the country will do it: "The government placed the people and politics under something like a state of emergency, for the good of all. At the outset there was a pact between conservative Prime Minister Janez Jansa and the parties. ... In it, you find such passages as: 'The undersigned will, in keeping with their role in the parliamentary system, not encumber the work of the government as regards the EU presidency.' In other words: Keep your mouth shut for six months. And almost all signed the statement. From the conservatives to the social democrats to the left. But actually, that was not enough. Everyone is supposed to sign on to this pact – including journalists. But they refuse. For several months now, they have been loudly charging the government with trying to influence news coverage." (03/01/2008)

La Croix - France

"Beyond Ljubljana, a whole part of our continent is finding itself in the limelight, after having long been perceived in the West as enemy territory", considers Michel Kubler. "Are we ready to place our trust in eastern nations whose fate has become entwined with ours, in accordance with our common desire to rise to our noble European ambition? The answer lies ... in our perception of these States, which can no longer be limited to well-meaning compassion, or to a condescending welcome given to these convalescent communities in our 'grand courts'. Western Europeans would be well-advised to henceforth view their eastern neighbours with utter respect. Thus they will appear to us in their true light, as authentic Europeans, as European as us, but in a different way." (02/01/2008)

» To the complete press review of Thursday, January 3, 2008

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