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Spindelegger on Swedish EU Presidency: "Full support" |
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Spindelegger on Swedish EU Presidency: “Full support for difficult task”
Expresses thanks to Czech Presidency
 Vienna, 1 July 2009 – “The situation at the beginning of the Czech Presidency was characterised by crises: the gas dispute between Ukraine and Russia, the crisis in the Gaza Strip and the global economic and financial development determined the agenda. Additional critical factors were the uncertainty of the fate of the Treaty of Lisbon and the change in government in the Czech Republic itself. All the same, our Czech friends managed to steer the ‘EU ship’ safely through the first half of 2009,” stated Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger at the end of the Czech EU Presidency.
“The Czech Republic has a positive track record as far as its EU Presidency is concerned. A number of positive results have been obtained in the past six months,” stated Spindelegger. The Foreign Minister referred to the adoption of a targeted set of economic measures to stimulate the EU’s economy, the first steps on the path to a new regulation of the financial markets, the launch of the Eastern Partnership, the agreement on legal guarantees for Ireland and the Commission’s mandate to elaborate a strategy for the Danube region, which is particularly gratifying for Austria.
“A fly in the ointment is the fact that we have not been able to make progress in Croatia’s accession negotiations or in removing the barriers for an interim agreement with Serbia, despite the Commission’s efforts. But I am confident that Sweden will press ahead with the European perspective for the Western Balkans,” affirmed the Foreign Minister.
“The Swedish EU Presidency has set itself an ambitious agenda, with the economic crisis and climate change as its key challenges. Other tasks that need to be addressed include important decisions on personnel and institutional preparations for a possible entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. We will support Sweden in its complex endeavour to the best of our ability,” concluded Spindelegger.
Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs
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