low graphics version | feedback | help
Prodi attacks EU's rotating presidency
Prodi: Current system is "ineffective political tourism"
The President of the European Union Commission, Romano Prodi, has said that the system of rotating the union's presidency every six months is "untenable" in the long term.
"We can't go on spinning around like this. This is a big, big, big problem for us to work, like we do now, with different negotiating cultures and different people," he said.
In an interview with the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, Mr Prodi said the current system - where each country takes its turn at the head of the union - is "ineffective political tourism".
EU presidency |
July-Dec 2000: France Jan-June 2001: Sweden July-Dec 2001: Belgium Jan-June 2002: Spain July-Dec 2002: Denmark |
The system could become harder to manage when the union expands, almost doubling its size from its current 15 members when mainly eastern European countries are admitted.
But Mr Prodi said that the system was unlikely to change soon, as each country should be given the chance to demonstrate that it can lead the whole EU.
Sweden took over the presidency from France on 1 January 2001.
| Search BBC News Online | |
|  Advanced search options | |
| |
 | |
 | |
| |
 | BBC RADIO NEWS |
| |
| |
 | BBC ONE TV NEWS |
| |
| |
| WORLD NEWS SUMMARY |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 | PROGRAMMES GUIDE |
See also:
Internet links:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Top Europe stories now:
Links to more Europe stories are at the foot of the page.
E-mail this story to a friend
