Brussels, 17/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - Two days ahead of the special European Council in Brussels on Thursday 19 November to decide who will get the new jobs created under the Lisbon Treaty, the consultations being held with the member states by the Swedish prime minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, are far from smooth and consensus is not yet emerging. “We are not yet there,” explained the Swedish European affairs minister, Cecilia Malmström, after a General Affairs Council meeting on Monday evening. She told reporters that EU foreign ministers had not discussed “names” and preparations for the special summit were entirely in the hands of Fredrik Reinfeldt. Together with a vice-president of the European Commission, Margot Wallström, Malmström called for a woman to get one of the jobs. A Belgian, Herman Van Rompuy (as president of the European Council), and an Italian, Massimo d'Alema (the European Socialist Party's candidate for high representative), remain the names most quoted but the decision has not yet been made. Other potential candidates for the president of the European Council job still in the running include Jan Peter Balkenende, Jean-Claude Juncker, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Wolfgang Schüssel, Paavo Lipponen and John Bruton. The British are still supporting Tony Blair but observers think this might be a tactical move to win a key portfolio at the European Commission.
Meanwhile, the acting president of the European Council has explained to European leaders how he sees the special summit unfolding on Thursday evening. The summit will start with an early dinner at 6.00pm. In a letter to his counterparts, Reinfeldt explains: “All member states have now ratified the Lisbon Treaty, which will therefore enter into force on 1 December 2009. The time has now come for us to choose the persons who will be appointed to the new offices established by the treaty: the president of the European Council, the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and the secretary general of the Council. In the light of the consultations I have been holding lately, I hope that on Thursday we will be in a position to reach a political agreement on these appointments.” He added: “This agreement would subsequently be formalised (Ed: using the written procedure) on the day the treaty enters into force.”
If agreement is reached on the new jobs, Reinfeldt is planning for the special summit to move on to discuss how the new European Council would operate: “The new treaty will change many things in the way the European Union operates. First and foremost, it will have a strong impact on the work of the European Council itself. This is why I propose that at our dinner, if time allows, we will also exchange views on our future working methods,” explains Reinfeldt in his letter to the other 26 leaders. (H.B./transl.fl)