Thanks to its direct presence in both Brussels and Paris, EurActiv is in a unique position to provide its readers with up-to-date and in-depth coverage of the main policy developments and debates that are to take place during France’s six-month tenure at the helm of the EU.

Ahead of the formal handover from Slovenia to France on 1st July, EurActiv.com organised, in collaboration with EurActiv.fr, special coverage of the top priorities of the French government, including a detailed dossier covering all the main issues and challenges that France will have to deal with and including links to key policy documents.

These range from ensuring the smooth ratification of the EU’s new Lisbon Treaty in all 27 countries and boosting economic growth in the face of rising inflation and a global credit crunch, to adopting strong measures to effectively tackle climate change and ensuring energy security for the continent.

The reform of European agricultural policies in a context of food shortages and soaring commodity prices, immigration policy and global trade negotiations in the World Trade Organisation will also be hot topics on the agenda until the end of 2008.

This special coverage ran throughout the week beginning on Monday 2 June and notably dealt with the following topics:

- The agenda of the French Presidency: France readies for 'heaviest Presidency in EU history'
- France’s priorities for an EU climate and energy pact: Deal on EU climate package by year's end?
- French proposals for a 'Small Business Act': French Presidency seeks strong 'Small Business Act'
- A planned 'European Immigration Pact': Sarkozy's EU immigration agenda ‘plain sailing’
- Controversial GM crops: France seeks solution to EU GMO deadlock
- France’s ambitions for a European defence policy: France seeks to revitalise European defence
- Energy liberalisation in France: Interview: 'France will eventually back down on unbundling'

This coverage will be complemented throughout the French Presidency by collaboration with our partners in Paris, who have opened a special section on their website entirely dedicated to the French Presidency: Présidence française de l'UE.

In addition, complementary coverage is already and will continue to be provided on the future Presidencies of the EU and on the synergies that exist between the 18-month presidential trio of France, the Czech Republic and Sweden.

This will notably be done in collaboration with our partner in Prague, EurActiv.cz.

Media contacts:
Stéphanie Rhomberg, Network & Language Manager; Tel. +32 2 788 36 88, networkmanager@euractiv.com

Christophe Leclercq, Publisher; Tel. +32 2 226 58 13, publisher@euractiv.com

Frédéric Simon, Managing Editor; Tel. +32 2 788 36 78, editor@euractiv.com

Charlotte Laigle, Communication Director, EurActiv France ; Tel. +33 1 40 28 90 22, claigle@euractiv.fr

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