Slovenia takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union at midnight tonight — the first former Communist member state ever to do so. Who would have thought only 20 years ago that such a thing could be possible? It is a huge tribute to the government and the people of this small central European country — the most northerly part of former Yugoslavia – that they have come so far, so fast. They have already adopted the euro as their currency (ahead of all the other states which joined the EU in its ‘big bang’), and they started preparing for their EU presidency a full three years ago, with a thoroughness that would shame several older member states.
The irony is that this will almost certainly be the last time Slovenia has the chair as well, as the whole system of six-month rotating presidencies is due to be scrapped under the new EU Reform Treaty. But we can be sure that Ljubljana will be making the most of its time in the spotlight!
