Sweden steals the show

While UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown delayed his appearance for the signing of the Lisbon treaty on 13 December, Sweden stole the show with a guest appearance by Princess Royal Victoria alongside Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, edging out Foreign Minister Carl Bildt from the welcoming photo with the Portuguese hosts. The princess had spent two weeks at Sweden's permanent representation to the EU in Brussels, learning how the Union works. She seems to have impressed Sweden's permanent representative Sven-Olof Petersson, who told a newspaper: “I would like to hire her. She knows a lot about the EU.” Give that shameless man a promotion. She also attended the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) last week (17 December). The future queen of Sweden might be a special case, but the appearance of new faces in the Council does not go down well with Justus Lipsius grandees like deputy secretary-general Pierre de Boissieu. Delegations were recently sent a terse reminder that ministers should not bring family members to meetings after Bildt brought his son to a GAERC.