Muslim Community Lobby Ireland is an independent organization established 1st May 2007. Its motto is TO USE THE VOTE RIGHTLY AND TO RAISE THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY AWARNESS WITH THEIR RIGHTS AND TO PROMOTE TOLERANCE AND UNDERSTANDING OF OTHER EXISTING GROUPS. لترشيد استعمال الصوت الانتخابي ولتوعية وتعريف المسلمين بحقوقهم في ايرلندا وان يعيشوا بتفهم للواقع وللجماعات الاخرى الموجودة على الساحة

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Challenges Loom for Sweden’s E.U. Presidency

STOCKHOLM — The last time Sweden ran the European Union, eight years ago, its reign was a mostly quiet one, memorable only for a riot that marred a summit in Gothenburg. But as they assume the rotating presidency of the bloc again on Wednesday, Sweden’s leaders may feel nostalgic for those boring days of 2001.This Swedish presidency will be crucial for the E.U., the world’s largest trading bloc, and a portfolio of thorny issues await it. Chief among them is the fate of the Lisbon Treaty, the proposed new charter for the E.U., which many of its leaders feel is crucial for the Continent if it wants to increase its influence on the international stage.But many other challenges are looming.With economies stagnating, the Swedes will face resistance in trying to restore order to the continent’s battered public finances. There is also the issue of climate change and whether Europe can forge a consensus in advance of global talks in December.A wide array of foreign policy challenges confront the E.U. as well, ranging from a likely crisis over Russian gas supplies to fresh tensions with Iran.“You need to prepare for what you cannot foresee,” said Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Prime Minister of Sweden, on Tuesday, encapsulating the unmanageable nature of the task he faces.Hanging over it all is the crippling uncertainty created by a referendum in October, when Ireland votes for a second time on the Lisbon Treaty, which aims to streamline the E.U.’s complex and ramshackle structure.According to Thomas Klau, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, Lisbon is “the one big topic” for the Swedes. “And there is no way to know how that plays out,” he said.“As one Swedish diplomat said to me, ‘Swedes don’t like uncertainty, they like planning,”’ Mr. Klau added. “There is every uncertainty about the vote in Ireland and the result could produce two very different scenarios.”The Lisbon Treaty aims to change decision-making procedures and create a new permanent President of the European Council, where national governments meet.But to come into force all 27 nations must ratify it. That requires a “yes” vote in Ireland, the completion of ratification by Germany, and the assent of the presidents of the Czech Republic and Poland, both of whom dislike the treaty.Achieving this is a challenge for Sweden, a nation of 9.2 million people that joined the E.U. in 1995 but stayed outside the European single currency after voters rejected the idea of adopting the Euro in a referendum in 2003.In the months leading up to the Irish vote, the Swedes must avoid contentious initiatives, so as not to risk complicating the task of the Irish “yes” campaign. This policy paralysis is compounded by the legal uncertainty that the Lisbon vote creates. For example, negotiations on data exchange with the United States cannot be completed before October because the E.U.’s procedures will be changed if Lisbon is ratified.An Irish “no” in October would plunge the E.U. back into crisis.But if the treaty goes through, the Swedes will have only a matter of weeks to oversee the creation of a new E.U. diplomatic service and conduct an elaborate negotiation over new E.U. jobs.Advance discussions are difficult because suggestions that an Irish yes vote is being taken for granted could jeopardize the referendum. “That makes it very difficult to plan,” said one official speaking on condition of anonymity. “It has to be done in secret.”The Swedes will also need to handle the politically sensitive task of doling out appointments within the European Commission.At the same time they must negotiate an agreement among E.U. nations about how to finance a deal on climate change, and mollify eastern European nations that want wealthier neighbors to assume more of the burden. This will then be taken to the table in global talks in December.The backdrop, warned Mr. Reinfeldt, was a tough economic environment and a situation “where a lot of countries think that the climate issue is about getting more resources to their country and someone else should pay.”Meanwhile Sweden may clash with France over moves to reign in ballooning budget deficits. “We think that the line of pushing financial stimulus packages is exhausted and it is exit strategies we should be pushing more,” the Swedish Prime Minister said.The highest court in Germany has ruled that the Lisbon Treaty was compatible with German law, but said that changes to domestic legislation must be made before it can be formally ratified. The decision by the Constitutional Court creates a technical problem for the German government, which will now have to rush through new legislation to comply. Speaking in Stockholm, Carl Bildt, the foreign minister of Sweden, said his preliminary assessment was that the ruling would not create an obstacle to the entry into force of Lisbon.Irish times