Frankrijk maakt het moeilijk voor Slovenië (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The small Alpine Republic of Slovenia took over the onerous task of running the EU for six months on 1 January - but since then has had to contend with a lime-light stealing France and an agenda that must not upset the EU's treaty ratification process.
As the first of the member states to join the EU in 2004 to assume the six-month rotating presidency and having already been the first of these countries to adopt the euro, Ljubljana was proud of its fast-track European credentials.
But although it has some major issues to deal with, including settling the final status of the breakaway province of Kosovo, the thorniest foreign policy issue to face the bloc in years, it risks been upstaged by France and high-octane president, Nicolas Sarkozy.
Diplomats say it is telling that on the days that EU journalists travelled to Slovenia for the traditional get-to-know-the-new-EU-presidency trip, two major announcements emerged from France overshadowing the news coming from Ljubljana.
On the first day of the trip, Europe minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet announced that France was open to further EU enlargement, a statement seen as a major point of departure from the previous administration.
A day later Mr Sarkozy himself dominated the pages with a detailed overview of what France is planning to do under its presidency, beginning on 1 July.
By the end of the French presidency, France wants to Europe to have "an immigration policy, a defence policy, an energy policy and an environment policy", the president said last week during a question and answer session with journalists.
Practically, Slovenia is already relying on 110 French embassies where it does not have representation itself, following an arrangement between the two governments.
Meanwhile, the political blog Coulisses de Bruxelles of the French daily Libération notes that agriculture minister Michel Barnier - along with 22 advisors and three secretaries - is to decamp to Brussels at the end of this month to prepare the French presidency.
One diplomat summed up the attitude of France towards Slovenia as being "You can do your dance but it will be up to us to make the real decisions," suggesting that on two topics in particular - the liberalisation of the EU's energy giants and picking the names for the top EU posts that are coming up next year - are being tacitly left to Paris.
A Slovene spokesperson said: "on a working level, we have very good relations," and denied that any dossiers were being explicitly left to France.
But she went on add: "we want everyone to play their role," referring to the different EU institutions as well as the member states.
But while the Slovenians remain unruffled by the looming French presidency, some diplomats are unimpressed by Mr Sarkozy and his plans.
"For us, he is a kind of a showman," said a diplomat from a small member state. "We are waiting to see what he will produce of substance."
Meanwhile, EU officials also refer to the clamp-down on policy activity during the Slovene presidency as member states begin the process of ratifying the bloc's new treaty.
Last month, a controversial health plan was shelved by the European Commission because it was felt it could upset ratification.
Other potentially controversial talks - such on an EU diplomatic service - are also on the backburner until the Lisbon treaty is approved by the 27 member states.