Stockholm, 30/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - "Much as I and my colleagues in the Government enjoyed our Presidency last year, I think we have to face the fact that Sweden will probably, at the most, have one more EU Presidency of the same kind. For me, personally, a future team presidency, where for example, the three Nordic countries and the Baltic States would share the responsibilities for a year or so, would be interesting to discuss further". This is how Swedish Prime Miniser Göran Persson spoke of the subject of the EU Council Presidency last Friday at a debate on the future of Europe. The debate was attended by Javier Solana (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.7). While acknowledging the merits of the half-yearly rotating Presidency, Mr Persson stressed: "The EU needs to develop a more long-term agenda. We need a comprehensive work programme. A work programme that goes beyond the present six-month Presidency periods. (…) Such as programme could be worked out jointly by a group of incoming presidencies together with the Commission, and agreed by the European Council. Then it would be easier to have different nationalities chair the various council formations. Maybe leaving only the European Council and the General Affairs Council in the hands of the country in the Chair".
Furthermore, Mr Persson, as Tony Blair and Gerhard Schröder had also done, noted that the agendas of the European Councils are overloaded. He deplored the fact that "a multitude of issues, large and small, some of which have not even been announced clearly in advance are slowing down our ability to act". He therefore suggests that the European Council should have a certain number of rules, "a code of conduct of its own" The Swedish Prime Minister admits the Foreign Ministers are finding it increasingly difficult to carry out their role of coordinating and preparing the summits. He said he was not criticising them as, he recognised, they have an ever-growing workload on external relations. He felt that one should keep the General Affairs Council as a body for coordinating the European Councils, but that it should therefore be made a "genuine General Affairs Council". How? In his view, "it should be up to each Member State to decide whom to send to such a Council: deputy prime ministers, foreign ministers or ministers for European affairs. The important thing is that people with a clear political mandate represent all Member States. They must have full powers".