Slovak News Back to the news
Fico Taking Part in EU Summit Deciding On New EU Council President
Thursday 19 November 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, November 19 (TASR) - Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday afternoon departed for Brussels and the extraordinary EU summit which, among other things, will decide upon the available candidates for the new positions of European Council President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Government Office announced on the same day.
The summit was summoned by Swedish Prime Minister Frederic Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the EU presidency. It can now focus on these personnel issues given that the Treaty of Lisbon has been ratified by all 27 EU countries. The Treaty will come into effect on December 1. The composition of the future European Commission will also be discussed.
According to Reinfeldt, there still isn't any agreement on who should assume the posts and a long list of candidates is on the table after the first round of consultations.
Among the hottest candidates for the European Council President are Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, his Dutch counterpart Jan Peter Balkenende, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and former British prime minister Tony Blair. The list of candidates for the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy post is also long, featuring names such as former Italian Premier Massimo D'Alema and British Foreign Affairs Minister David Miliband.
Slovak Prime Minister wants the new "EU President" (European Council President) to be a strong personality who will be pro-active leader, not only a co-ordinator. "According to us here in Slovakia, the Council President should be an important international personality," Fico said on Wednesday.
It can't be ruled out that the summit, organised as a working dinner, will go on into the night or even the early morning hours. Decisions are expected to be made at the session.
All rights reserved. Any publishing or further dissemination of press releases and photographs from TASR's resources without TASR's prior written approval constitutes a violation of the Copyrights Act.
