The French Presidency and the European Union: Sarkozy Presses On

By Dr Somjai Phagaphasvivat Published on July 25, 2008 On July 1, Nicolas Sarkozy embarked on France's six-month presidency of the European Union. Against the backdrop of plummeting popularity at home, the French president has an ambitious plan to re-launch the dynamism of the European Union. Sarkozy's original grand design was to put his stamp on the closer integration of the European Union hinged upon the success of the Lisbon Treaty, a surrogate for the EU Constitution, killed in 2005. The Treaty, if approved by the 27 members of the EU, would reform the EU's voting rules, establish new foreign-policy mechanisms, and enhance the European parliament's powers for the sake of boosting the EU's efficiency and ability to assume a greater role in the world. In short, the Lisbon Treaty would press ahead with the EU towards a more... [read full story]