It takes a lot for an Englishman to speak French in public. Yet Tony Blair, who has made a habit of it, did it again on January 12th, delivering a speech in praise of reform and European unity to members of France's centre-right ruling party—all in respectable French. Commentators argued that only one prize could explain why the former British prime minister (and nominally centre-left politician) put himself through the ordeal. At the meeting, President Nicolas Sarkozy gave explicit backing to Mr Blair to become the European Union's first full-time president.
Under the new Lisbon treaty, the EU's 27 members will be represented by a single figure, serving for two-and-a-half years. That replaces the system which sees countries take it in turns to chair EU meetings for six months. Hailing his guest as one of Europe's “great men”, Mr Sarkozy called on Europe to “aim high”, and not settle for a compromise figure. That certainly sounded like an endorsement.
Mr Sarkozy hopes the new chief will be chosen late this year, when France holds the club's rotating presidency. But that can happen only if the treaty is ratified by all 27 members during 2008. Just as likely, the president will be chosen in a horse-trading marathon in 2009, which will also pick a head of the European Commission (roughly, the EU's bureaucracy) and a new foreign-policy chief.
雙語新聞：布萊爾欲競選歐盟主席？(圖)
對一個英國人來說，在公開場合講法語不是一件容易的事。然而，托尼·布萊爾已經(jīng)養(yǎng)成了這個習(xí)慣。1月12日，他又這樣做了一次，他用體面的法語對法國中間偏右的執(zhí)政黨成員發(fā)表了一次演講，稱贊改革和歐洲的團(tuán)結(jié)。評論員說，只有一個激勵因素能解釋為什么這位英國前首相(名義上是一位中間偏左的政治家)如此賣力。在那次會議上，尼古拉·薩科齊總統(tǒng)明確支持他成為歐盟首位專職主席。
根據(jù)新的里斯本條約，歐盟27國將由一個單一的人物來代表，任期2年半。這將替代成員國每6個月輪流當(dāng)歐盟會議主席的制度。薩科齊先生稱贊布萊爾為歐洲的“偉大”人物之一，并呼吁歐洲在人選上要確立“高目標(biāo)”而不能尋求妥協(xié)。這聽上去就像是(對布萊爾的)認(rèn)可。
薩科齊先生希望新的首領(lǐng)在今年下半年被選出。屆時，法國是這個俱樂部的輪值主席國。但是，只有在27個成員國在2008年批準(zhǔn)這個條約的情況下，選舉才可能進(jìn)行。很可能，主席將經(jīng)過馬拉松式的討價還價在2009年才能產(chǎn)生。同時，也將產(chǎn)生歐洲委員會(基本上是歐盟的官僚機(jī)構(gòu))的頭頭和一位新的外交長官。
Under the new Lisbon treaty, the EU's 27 members will be represented by a single figure, serving for two-and-a-half years. That replaces the system which sees countries take it in turns to chair EU meetings for six months. Hailing his guest as one of Europe's “great men”, Mr Sarkozy called on Europe to “aim high”, and not settle for a compromise figure. That certainly sounded like an endorsement.
Mr Sarkozy hopes the new chief will be chosen late this year, when France holds the club's rotating presidency. But that can happen only if the treaty is ratified by all 27 members during 2008. Just as likely, the president will be chosen in a horse-trading marathon in 2009, which will also pick a head of the European Commission (roughly, the EU's bureaucracy) and a new foreign-policy chief.
雙語新聞：布萊爾欲競選歐盟主席？(圖)
對一個英國人來說，在公開場合講法語不是一件容易的事。然而，托尼·布萊爾已經(jīng)養(yǎng)成了這個習(xí)慣。1月12日，他又這樣做了一次，他用體面的法語對法國中間偏右的執(zhí)政黨成員發(fā)表了一次演講，稱贊改革和歐洲的團(tuán)結(jié)。評論員說，只有一個激勵因素能解釋為什么這位英國前首相(名義上是一位中間偏左的政治家)如此賣力。在那次會議上，尼古拉·薩科齊總統(tǒng)明確支持他成為歐盟首位專職主席。
根據(jù)新的里斯本條約，歐盟27國將由一個單一的人物來代表，任期2年半。這將替代成員國每6個月輪流當(dāng)歐盟會議主席的制度。薩科齊先生稱贊布萊爾為歐洲的“偉大”人物之一，并呼吁歐洲在人選上要確立“高目標(biāo)”而不能尋求妥協(xié)。這聽上去就像是(對布萊爾的)認(rèn)可。
薩科齊先生希望新的首領(lǐng)在今年下半年被選出。屆時，法國是這個俱樂部的輪值主席國。但是，只有在27個成員國在2008年批準(zhǔn)這個條約的情況下，選舉才可能進(jìn)行。很可能，主席將經(jīng)過馬拉松式的討價還價在2009年才能產(chǎn)生。同時，也將產(chǎn)生歐洲委員會(基本上是歐盟的官僚機(jī)構(gòu))的頭頭和一位新的外交長官。