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France takes over presidency of the European Union

Article published on the 2008-06-30 Latest update 2008-07-10 15:39 TU

French President Nicolas Sarkozy.(Photo : AFP)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
(Photo : AFP)

As France takes over the presidency of the European Union, President Nicolas Sarkozy hopes his country will leave its mark in several areas: immigration, energy and environment, defence, common agricultural policy. But first the EU must address the fallout from Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.

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In addition, the French presidency faces some very immediate challenges: fallout from Ireland’s ‘no’ vote in the recent referendum on the EU Treaty, whether to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics over its treatment of Tibet and growing protests by truckers, fishermen and farmers across Europe over ever-increasing fuel prices.

The German EU presidency led by Angela Merkel successfully built consensus on global warming and the EU treaty. The ebullient French president has ambitious goals. He wants Europe to take a bigger political role on the international stage, corresponding with its economic weight. With a population of 500 million, the European Union produces one-quarter of the world’s wealth.

But Sarkozy may have little space for manoeuvre. Much energy will be devoted to getting out of the current constitutional impasse, to “getting the 27 back on track “ , says France’s Secretary of State for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet, in an interview Monday in the French press.

Meanwhile former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing said in a newspaper on Sunday that "the French, who are not modest as you know, believe that the presidency of Europe means ruling Europe. Instead, Europe is ruled by its institutions and for six months France will preside over one of those institutions, the Council. The European Parliament and the Commission keep their structures. So it’s important, of course, but it doesn’t mean we have the power to decide in the place of others”.

President Nicolas Sarkozy will make a televised speech on Monday night to mark the start of France’s EU presidency; for the next six months the Eiffel Tower will be lit up in blue, the colours of Europe.