Every presidency of the European Union is a question of priorities.

It has become customary for each incoming presidency to spell out in advance its plans – in some cases, a long shopping list of ambitions – and yet experience has also shown that often, a country finds itself dealing with issues it may not have specifically planned for.

A striking example, of course, is how France and the Czech Republic had to move fast to lead the EU’s responses to the global financial crisis.

Paul Beijer, Sweden’s ambassador to Bulgaria, underlines this point as he explains how his country is preparing to take the helm of the bloc.

"Our own experience from the last time we had the presidency, and the experience of others, is that the unexpected usually takes up most of your time, things that you cannot prepare for, other than generically, and cannot predict, so if you announce your priorities very early you end up with stuff that you are saddled with and have to do something with, while at the same time your resources have to be devoted to other things that you have to deal with and you get stretched."

While Sweden will be announcing its priorities comparatively late – albeit fairly soon – it is not as if there is no clear sense of priorities.

The first and most obvious one, Beijer says, is the economic and financial crisis.

"There are a number of mechanisms in place to cope with it but, of course, the crisis is developing all the time so there may be a need for the Swedish presidency to come up with new ideas during our six months."

Beijer emphasises the importance of not allowing short-term responses to detract from longer-term considerations.

"There needs to be a long-term focus and there needs to be an escape strategy, shall we say, from crisis mode."

Sweden, he says, intends to put significant effort into the Lisbon Strategy, the economic strategy drawn up during the Portuguese presidency and which was drafted to cover the period up to 2010.

Adopted by the European Council in Lisbon in 2000, the Lisbon Strategy anticipates "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, and respect for the environment by 2010".

Beijer says that Sweden’s approach is that while the EU needs to cope with the current economic and financial crisis, "we cannot lose sight of the fact that the EU, long term, needs to adjust to a changing global economy, to the new requirements and the new possibilities that our worsening environmental situation is giving rise to, and needs to adjust to an ageing population".

It is important to keep a long-term focus because otherwise things are done in the short-term that could prove counter-productive in the long-term.

"Resolving unemployment issues by marginalising people, shifting them out of the labour market, we cannot afford that. We need every person who can work to be eligible for work, to be in the labour market."

He underlines that in the EU, fewer and fewer people are having to support an increasingly ageing population.

This means devoting effort to rejuvenating the Lisbon Strategy, making it more realistic, adapting it to the priorities and needs that exist today.

"Of course, implementation is one issue that will be part of this process as well. To the extent that some things have not worked, well, we have to try to figure out something better."

Beijer is keen to point out that in this context, "all is not gloom and doom".

"We think that the environmental sector actually provides a lot of potential for Europe’s economy. A shift to a more environmentally-friendly eco economy is one that can impart a lot of momentum to member states’ economies, can generate growth."

Asked if this view is based on Sweden’s own experience, Beijer says that his country is starting to see such a phenomenon: "We have in the energy sector a lot of innovative firms and innovative technology that we think will be going places".