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Janez Janša, Prime Minister of Slovenia and President of the EU Council, set out the policy priorities of his country's presidency in an address on Wednesday to MEPs. As Parliament's President Hans-Gert Pöttering pointed out, this was the first time that one of the central European countries who had joined the EU in 2004 was holding the presidency.
Mr Janša told the House of a time in 1988 when he was arrested for criticising the then Yugoslav regime, and how the popular protests which had ensued had "set in motion the beginnings of change". Now he stood before European Parliament as Prime Minister of Slovenia and President of the European Council. "If anyone had predicted such a possibility twenty years ago in my prison cell, I would not have believed one word of it", he said.
Turning to the priorities of his country's presidency over the coming six months, he highlighted the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, saying "We hope that by the end of the Slovenian Presidency, the majority of the Member States will have followed in Hungary's footsteps. The Slovenian Parliament will decide on ratification before the end of this month. The goal is to have the Lisbon Treaty enter into force on 1 January 2009".
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This year, the EU's 50th, the top ten achievements include leading the fight against climate change and the treaty of Lisbon.
We often don't realise the many ways in which the EU helps to improve our lives. This year's Top Ten gives a glimpse of how our concerns - as citizens, consumers, workers – are the real focus of the Union's everyday activities.
Most recently, EU leaders adopted the treaty of Lisbon to make the 27-nation Union more efficient and more democratic, giving greater powers to the European parliament and ensuring that national parliaments have a greater say in EU policy making.
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The new European treaty was signed on 13 December 2007 by the Heads of State or Government of the 27 Member States in the Portuguese capital. "The idea that motivates us in this ceremony for the signature is quite simple: to advance the European project," declared José Sócrates, the Prime Minister of Portugal and President of the European Council. "It is a Treaty for the construction of a more modern, efficient and democratic Europe," stressed Mr Sócrates.
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The charter of fundamental rights was officially proclaimed and signed in Strasbourg (12 December). For the first time in the EU's history, all the fundamental political, economic and social rights of its residents are now gathered in a single, legally-binding document."The democratic nature of our European project is reinforced by this charter of fundamental rights" said president Barroso.
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The European Parliament gave its assent to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union with 534 votes in favour 85 against and 21 abstentions. MEPs also adopted an amendment with 477 votes in favour, 106 against and 35 abstentions urging Poland and the United Kingdom to make every effort to arrive, after all, at a consensus on the unrestricted applicability of the Charter.
