"The agenda on the table is highly diverse. The main focus will be on the Lisbon Strategy, energy and climate change, the Western Balkans, the ratification of the new treaty and intercultural dialogues," Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in his welcome address on the presidency's website.
Slovenia's Foreign Affairs Minister Dimitrij Rupel (R) receives a European Union flag from his Portuguese counterpart Luis Amado (L) during a ceremony in Funchal on Madeira island Dec. 31, 2007. (Reuters Photo)Jansa said Slovenia wants to show that the European Union can function effectively after the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, a trimmed-down version of the failed EU constitution.
"It is my firm belief that we shall be successful on this," he said.
The Slovenian parliament is expected to ratify the Lisbon Treaty in January, supposedly because Slovenia, as the presiding country, wants to be a role model for other EU members.
As the last member of the German-Portuguese-Slovenian trio successive presidencies, Slovenia will strive to ensure continuity and maintain working towards an active and dynamic Europe, Jansa said.
Slovenia, the first EU newcomer from 2004 to chair the presidency, will face the daunting responsibility of overseeing a common EU policy as Kosovo prepares to declare independence from Serbia after the presidential election in Serbia, scheduled for late January or early February.
Serbia, Kosovo and Slovenia were once within the Yugoslav federation and Western officials expect Slovenia to use its ties to help reach a solution for Kosovo.
The United States and some EU countries have said they would recognize Kosovo's independence because it has not been under Serbia's control since 1999, when NATO bombing forced the pullout of Serbian forces fighting against ethnic Albanian rebels.
Serbia, backed by Russia, insists that Kosovo -- considered the cradle of Serbia's medieval state and religion -- should remain part of its territory, and has urged more negotiations with Kosovo Albanians.
Other countries such as Cyprus, Spain, Slovakia, Romania and Greece have feared that Kosovo's independence would encourage separatist movements elsewhere. Officials say that Slovenia's efforts will be directed at ensuring the EU's unity on the issue.
Talks are to begin during Slovenia's presidency on sharing the burden in cutting greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the share of energy from renewable sources. The talks, however, are not expected to conclude in the first half of 2008.
The EU summit in March to be held in Brussels, will focus on the review of the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy.
Coexistence between cultures will also be a priority of Slovenia's presidency as it coincides with the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. The main ceremony marking the beginning of the year of intercultural dialogue will be held in Ljubljana on Jan. 8.
As the country presiding the EU Council, Slovenia will host a number of events in the first half of 2008, from informal ministerial meetings to the EU-US summit.
Most of the events staged in Slovenia will take place at Brdo pri Kranju in suburban Ljubljana, where a new conference center has been constructed, but many of the presidency-related events will be held in Brussels.
The first major event to be held in Slovenia will be a meeting between the Slovenian presidency and the European Commission at Brdo pri Kranju on Jan. 8.
Slovenia, an Alpine country with 2 million people, sandwiched between Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, has made swift bounds since declaring independence in 1991.
In 2004, it joined the EU and NATO. A year ago, it became the 13th nation using the euro. On Dec. 21, it joined the EU's borderless zone.
Slovenia will hold the position until June 30, when it hands over the presidency to France.
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