Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado handed over the Presidency of the Council of the EU to his Slovenian counterpart Dimitrij Rupel at a ceremony in Funchal (Madeira) on 31 December 2007. Amado presented Rupel with the geometric object, decorated with stars and the European flag, which, since the German presidency in the first half of 2007, has symbolised the handover of the presidency. Rupel thanked the Portuguese presidency for what it had achieved and noted that 2008 would be a...