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February 9, 2010
Bildt fears insipid EU top job compromise
Published: 19 Nov 09 12:02 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/23360/20091119/
Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation
Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt has given voice to apprehensions that the EU may settle on an uninspiring compromise candidate for the new post of president when the union's leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday.
- Swedes cast about for EU job candidates (16 Nov 09)
- Sweden calls summit over EU top jobs (11 Nov 09)
- Swedish relief as Czechs sign Lisbon Treaty (3 Nov 09)
"In my circle of foreign ministers there is undoubtedly a certain apprehension about the fact that certain heads of government are leaning towards a minimal solution for the presidency question, which could reduce our chance of having a clear voice in the world," Bildt wrote on his blog.
A first-ever European Union president and a new foreign policy supremo will be named at a working dinner in Brussels Thursday by the EU's 27 heads of state and government.
Bildt said the consensus required for making such a choice could translate into weaker candidates nabbing the top posts.
"This could mean -- from our point of view -- missing a historic occasion," he wrote, adding that the coming into force of the Lisbon treaty was a chance for Europe to "become a new power on the global stage."
Thursday's talks will be coordinated by Sweden as the country holds the rotating EU presidency.
Bildt's name had circulated to become the 27-country bloc's new foreign policy chief, but his chances were cut short Tuesday when Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt named EU Affairs minister Cecilia Malmström as the country's next EU commissioner.
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Also, getting a consensus from 27 different heads of state from 27 different cultures will be almost impossible. They will have to compromise if they want to make any headway.
Give us Paavo Lipponen, Mary Robinson or Tarja Halonen.
We need people with backbone who can represent us all.
We need a vote. Why do want to be given a "real leader"? Why don't you demand to chose who leads?
When my country (UK) joined the Common Market 30 odd years ago there was no mention of anything like a European Union. The UK has been repeatedly denied a vote on anything to do with Europe; for the simple reason that a large number disagree with actually being part of this nefarious enterprise. This is yet another example of the EU forcing itself upon the UK and indeed any member state that dares to say no (I'm thinking here of Eire being forced to hold referendum after referendum until the "right" result was pressed out of a weary people).
It's really stupid to act in this way. Large empires with no democratic mandate have a nasty habit of collapsing in disarray and acrimony. It's only a matter of time before the thieves fall out with themselves.
A recent poll:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/the_...ics/7949104.stm