Brussels, 21/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - France, which will hold the presidency of the EU in the second half of 2008 (see EUROPE 9506), the Czech Republic, which will take over the presidency in the first half of 2009, and Sweden, (second half of 2009) have officially begun preparation of a joint programme for their successive presidencies. At a working meeting in Prague on 20 September, Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwartzenberg, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and Swedish Minister for European Affairs Cecilia Malmström agreed to put EU reforms - the coming into effect of the amending treaty in 2009, the launch of the debate on the reform of the budget and EU policies for post-2013 - at the heart of their joint programme. Security, energy, climate change and immigration will also feature strongly in the programme, which will be presented in June 2008, shortly before the French presidency. (hb)