the curious case of the president of the European Council.

Slovakia threatens to reopen Lisbon Treaty row

President of precisely what?

Imagine drafting a controversial proposal. Among its key recommendations is a new job. With a mixture of persuasion and muscle the proposal is accepted. The job has an attractive title but it turns out there is little agreement over its precise role. So only after the signature pens have been put to paper do the real discussions begin as to how the job will be defined.

This is the curious case of the president of the European Council.

As European leaders expect the last country, the Czech Republic, to sign the Lisbon Treaty, attention turns to not just who will fill the post of president but what this person will actually do. The job spec, as laid out in the treaty, is spare on detail. The president of the council shall "chair it and drive forward its work". He/she "shall endeavour to facilitate cohesion and consensus within the EC".

It's all very bland, and on that basis you would not expect a stack of applications. It sounds like a post for a bureaucratic ringmaster. But then comes something a little more enticing and intriguing: "The president of the EC shall... ensure the external representation of the union on issues concerning its common and security policy."

That last sentence has been taken to define the post. The president will be the face of the European Union. He/she will raise its profile around the world. It used to be
said, apocryphally, that the president of the United States never knew who to call in Europe. Now he will. Europe would no longer be just a place "to fly over". It will have a president.

CONTINUE AT : http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/gavinhewitt/2009/10/...

More about Slovakia :

The country's prime minister said he might seek similar opt-out clauses to those being negotiated by neighbour, the Czech Republic.

Robert Fico argued that Slovakia needed the same protection from post-war property claims that the Czech president had demanded.

His announcement on Sunday reignited the issue just 24 hours after it appeared to have been finally settled. On Saturday, Vaclav Klaus said he was resigned to signing the treaty as it was "like a train going so fast that it can't be stopped".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/6366162/...