BRUSSELS – Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister, takes over today the rotating six-month EU presidency. He will inherit more than the usual catalogue of economic and foreign policy challenges. As Spain expects to play a leading role in pushing forward a new 10-year European Union plan for jobs, economic growth and innovation they will have to tread a careful path, …read more
Posts Tagged ‘eu presidency’
Spain Takes The Reins
Friday, January 1st, 2010The EU President is chosen
Friday, November 20th, 2009
The president was chosen and appointed, not by us but by back room negotiations. This is a political position, not a private company post so it should be done in a much more open way than this. Rompuy came out within the last few weeks as a runner and Baroness Ashton within the last few days. Once the UK had dropped Blair as its ‘preferred’ candidate for the presidency we were allowed to have Ashton in the senior foreign policy position. …read more
Choosing a President of the EU Council of Ministers
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Watching this process reminds me of the dark days of the cold war. Very quickly after the Second World War a whole new industry was formed around the ‘Kremlin Watchers’. These people would try to peer over the wall and through the wire into the hearts and minds of those running that weird amalgam called the USSR.
They would monitor speeches, analyse photographs and question Soviet officials all to discover who was in and who was out. That would then give them a hint as to which way the Russian and satellite political game was running. …read more
Tony Blair hangs on to hopes of EU presidency
Monday, November 9th, 2009Tony Blair has in the past insisted that he is not campaigning for the post of EU president. But, according to the Times, is has emerged that he has made a succession of calls to European leaders to try and resuscitate his flagging attempt to take this flagship post. Tony Blair will be in the Far East continuing his job as peace envoy while all the European leaders are together at the Brandenburg Gate celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. …read more
Way cleared for David Miliband as Blair stumbles
Sunday, November 1st, 2009
The ‘Bleurites’ push for Blair to become the first EU president has, over the weekend, lost traction. But another UK candidate for another EU job (that has yet to be defined) enters the mix. Gordon Brown, it appears, is quietly supporting David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, for the EU foreign affairs chief. Should David Miliband, who has always said he is not available for the job, find himself in the post then Labour will effectively be left with a choice of two Brownites during the post election leadership contest. …read more
The Bleurites fail to land Tony Blair the EU presidency.
Friday, October 30th, 2009Despite an almost full frontal assault on the issue it looks like the Bleurites are about to fail in their attempt to shoehorn Tony Blair into the EU presidency. The Germans, French, the smaller EU countries and even the European Socialists are all now ranged against his investiture. …read more
Tony Blair set to be EU president
Monday, October 26th, 2009
At the moment it seems that Tony Blair is the only candidate for the job of EU president. His supporters, including our own Foreign Secretary, David Milliband, are now coming out in strength to market his case. This does all seem a bit previous though, as the presidency doesn’t even have a job description yet! …read more
