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The last hurdle has finally been removed and the Lisbon Treaty is set to enter into force by the end of the year. The content of the treaty have been praised by leading politicians all over the Union. They predict that, come the Lisbon treaty come a united Europe, more efficient, more democratic and with more focus on the needs and demands of the citizens. http://blogs.euobserver.com/ryborg 

Sometimes you can´t help wondering whether political leaders actually believe all they say? If so they will wake up to a different world. In reality the Lisbon Treaty mainly provide European politicians with a new set of tools. If, in the future, they don’t use the tools better than they have used the present toolbox there will be no reason to expect improvements in European policy.

Without political will and skill – the Lisbon treaty is close to nothing.

This is why the appointment of the President of European Council matters so much. But we are going about this the wrong way. The discussions have primarily been on names – not on what role the president should play.

The European Parliament is expected to adopt a report on the president´s role at its mini-session in Brussels next week. This is just 24 hours ahead of an expected extra-ordinary European Council convened to appoint the president and the foreign minister/high representative. Much too late to have this debate.

In the European media, the latest name to appear in the speculations is the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompoy. Being able to keep Belgium together as one country is surely an impressive skill. But with van Rompoy as with Blair, Balkenende, Juncker and the rest of the names that are floating around, the media are also going about it backwards.

Before appointing a person you should define what the job is all about.

When Blair’s name turned up, the main arguments in favour of the former British Prime Minister was that he would be a person that would make Europe a bigger player on the international stage.

The reality is that Europe will only be a key player in international politics if and when Europe has a common policy and that is far from always the case.

Far too often the European message is unclear for the simple reason that European policies are a compromise of the will of 27 countries.

What good does it do you to be the EU president and a former British Prime minister meeting American President Barack Obama, if you have nothing to say when you meet him?

What the European Council need more than anything is a smooth operator that are able to get European politicians to agree on common visions and afterwards help turning these visions into concrete pieces of legislation.

Take a look back at the latest meetings of the European Council, and you´ll  see it is not international affairs that steal the time of heads and state and government. It is internal European matters like financing a climate deal in Copenhagen, exit-strategies, immigration, energy security etc.

The president that Europe needs is somebody who has vision and at the same time have a great sense for detail. Somebody that is not easily scared by bullies like the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Also, Europe needs a president that can explain to our newest member countries from Central and Eastern Europe, that the rest of Europe have moved into the 21st century and that they are more than willing to come and join us here.

In the 21st century we do not count dead Poles when we calculate voting weights and we do not take into account decrees written by an exile government in London during the Second World War. The war is over and Europe is focusing on the future.

When you look at it this way, the most obvious candidate turns out to be the Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaite. She is known as the “Iron Lady” because she is tough towards everybody – and that will be needed in the European Council.

As a commissioner for the budget she proved herself to be a master of detail. Negotiating the financial perspectives will be one of the most important tasks for the President.

She is from a small new member state from the north and so is far better placed than almost anybody else to explain to the Poles that the war is over.

She is a conservative, which fits nicely with the ambition to appoint a socialist foreign minister.

If the new post is to become a success, heads of state and government are well advised to analyse the job demands before they appoint anybody. If they do that, things could well point them in the direction of Lithuania.