Sweden to Spain

According to Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt, all of his goals for the European Union presidency have been achieved.

Among the accomplishments Sweden claims from its six-month run of the rotating presidency are securing the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, tackling the Baltic Sea's environmental problems, and bringing visa-free travel to certain Balkan states in Europe's borderless Schengen zone.

Reinfeldt also takes credit for firming up the EU's position on climate change.

"We agreed on a long term goal for emission reductions of 80 to 95 percent by 2050," Reinfeldt said. "We renewed our offer to reduce our emissions by 30 percent, provided that others make comparable efforts."

The Swedish government has also been praised by some EU officials for its transparency and efficiency.

Reaching too far in foreign affairs?

But despite pats on the back from Reinfeldt and others, not everyone agrees on the degree of success achieved by Sweden over the past six months. Several EU diplomats say the Swedish prime minister was in fact not very transparent when he was consulting member states on how to fill top EU posts. Sweden has also been criticized for being too assertive on certain foreign policy issues.

One of the biggest examples was a call by Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt for East Jerusalem to be declared the future capital of an independent Palestinian state. Other EU members responded in a subtler manner, calling instead for talks on the status of Jerusalem. Bildt also accused Israel of being the country of "divide and rule" in trying to stop EU governments from backing the proposal.

The relationship between Sweden and Israel suffered further strain when a report surfaced in a Swedish newspaper accusing the Israeli army of harvesting the organs of dead Palestinians. Following the incident, Bildt called off a visit to Israel in September.

Polish parliamentarian Michal Tomasz Kaminski said the controversy was an example of how things were run within Sweden's EU presidency.

"I think that the unnecessary crisis related to the unfortunate article in the Swedish paper about the Israeli soldiers," Kaminski said. "I think the problems that emerged mark how negatively things have been directed over the past six months."

Handing over to Spain

Sweden may have been too heavy-handed regarding foreign policy, but Spain, as the incoming chair of the presidency, won't have any say in EU foreign policy.

The recently ratified Lisbon Treaty created a new position within the EU: the first High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is Great Britain's Catherine Ashton.

That means Spain will have to focus its presidency on areas other than foreign policy. The country hopes to prioritize the implementation of new institutional rules, discussions on the European Convention of Human Rights, and economic recovery in Europe. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos highlighted the importance of recovery in particular.

"We want to use these six months to navigate a way out of the crisis, but also to put good conditions in place for Europe's sustainable growth so we can move forward in science and innovation," he said. "We want the sort of development that creates employment and guarantees the economic and competitive future of all 500 million European citizens."

Uncertain role

Spain will also chair meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels and has divided other responsibilities of the presidency among its regions. For example, Catalonia will be hosting environment and fisheries councils. The Spanish government also wants to tackle issues such as domestic violence and terrorism.

Moratinos said Spain wants to create a "European Observatory" for the fight against domestic violence, and address judicial issues that protect women from violence.

As Sweden's turn with the EU presidency comes to an end, there is a sense that the rotating role in the EU will never be the same again. In addition to the new foreign policy chief, the Lisbon Treaty created the position of an EU president, the first of whom is former Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy. Rompuy will take over many of the major duties previously performed by the country sitting in the driver's seat, leaving Spain with the tricky task of redefining the role of the EU's rotating presidency.

Author: Nina-Maria Potts, Brussels/mz

Editor: Susan Houlton