PM Fischer says EU mission fulfilled

Caretaker Prime Minister Jan Fischer said on Monday that the Czech Republic would hand over the EU presidency to Sweden after fulfilling its agenda. Mr Fischer drew attention to the success of the EU summit this month which lined up leaders behind current EU Commission president José Barroso for another term and thrashed out assurances for Ireland ahead of another referendum of the Lisbon treaty. The Prime Minister also highlighted Czech moves to put relations with non-EU countries in Eastern Europe on a new footing, prioritise energy security and curb the impact of the world economic crisis. Sweden takes over at the helm of the EU from the start of July.