On January 1 2008 Slovenia took over the presidency of the European Union. Its six-month stint will test the diplomatic and institutional prowess of a country barely four years into its EU integration and with only 17 years of existence as an independent state.

Slovenia was the first former Yugoslav republic to join the EU, the first country from the EU newcomers of the 2004 wave to join the eurozone in 2007 and the first to assume the role of the voice of the European Union.

Slovenia’s tenure also comes at a critical time. The issue of Kosovo’s status is hot on the agenda and expectations are that the new government of UN-administered Kosovo is said to be declaring independence in the first half of this year.

For this reason, at the handover of the rotating presidency in late 2007, Slovenian foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel said that the issue of Kosovo would be a top priority during Slovenia’s presidency.

“We believe that the time to end the Yugoslav crisis has come,” Rupel was quoted by international media as saying, adding that Slovenia’s topmost priority would be to act as the bridge between the EU and the Balkans.

In particular, it will look to avert any outbreak of violence as an aftermath from this move. Although both Serbia and Kosovo have committed to non-violence, the possibility for the outbreak of aggression remains, Rupel said.

The minister said the possibility for a negative scenario was not to be ruled out, namely, the disintegration of Kosovo into its Kosovo Albanian- and Serb-populated regions.
For this reason, Rupel said Kosovo would pose the hardest challenge to Slovenia’s presidency of the EU. Slovenia will no less seek to broker a single European Union voice on the issue. At present, several EU member states oppose Kosovo’s plans to unilaterally declare independence for fear of secessionist movements in their territory. The states include Cyprus, Spain, Slovakia and Romania.

As part of its Balkans-focused foreign policy, Slovenia has committed to accelerate the EU pre-accession process for the Western Balkans. This presumes that Slovenia should ensure that countries currently in pre-accession talks continue on this path and countries waiting at the EU’s door receive an invitation to this end. To Rupel, this ambition is natural and “the Western Balkans must be guaranteed a European perspective”.

In regard to Serbia, which, in late December, voted on a resolution to denounce Kosovo’s plans for independence, cut or forgo diplomatic relations with countries to have recognised the independence of the break-away province and to postpone its EU membership plans for that matter, Slovenia urged Serbia against such a definitive stance.

Interpreting the move as part of the pre-electoral rhetoric – Serbia is to hold general elections January 20 – Rupel told Slovenian news agency STA that Belgrade should ask itself “how could, in the long run, a state survive being surrounded by European Union member states, and not being part of that union”.

At present, Slovenia has also put the successful start of the Lisbon Treaty ratification as another priority. In an example-setting move, Slovenia pledged to ratify the reform treaty, the trimmed version of the constitution rejected by France and the Netherlands in 2005, in January. The treaty, hoped to come into effect as of the start of next year, should set the foundation for wide-reaching internal reforms within the union.

Slovenia, a country that entertains neutrality in foreign policy, is also hoped to act as a bridge between the European Union and Russia in outstanding issues such as the signing of a partnership agreement between the two. In a recent interview, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, the special spokesperson of the Russian president on European issues, said Slovenia is a close ally of Russia and “we have a good feeling”.

Russia hopes that Slovenia will create the favourable diplomatic basis to sign a new partnership agreement between Russia and the EU. Nearly a year ago, Poland blocked the signing of the partnership agreement because of Russia’s ban on Polish meat imports.

Slovenia will also continue to act as the EU’s voice on issues ranging from the EU position on the Middle East and Iran to energy to the fight against climate change.

The handover of the EU presidency took place on December 31 in Madeira, Portugal. At a special ceremony, Rupel received the EU flag from his Portuguese counterpart.

The presidency is shifting from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, from the West to the East, Rupel was quoted as saying by the foreign ministry, STA reported. “We are in for an offensive of friendship, partnership, neighbourly relations, respect, understanding and solidarity,” he said.

Slovenia is considered the most economically sound country on the Balkans. This allowed it to be the first of all European Union newcomers to join the eurozone and one of the eight countries to join the Schengen border-free zone in late 2007.