Luxembourg’s EU presidency: key players

Jean-Claude Juncker (prime minister and finance minister)

Date: 16/12/04

THE man in charge of the Luxembourg presidency is the longest-serving prime minister in the European Union.

He has been attending European Council meetings since 1995.

Born in the west of Luxembourg, Juncker spent his childhood in the south of the country, in Belvaux, where his father was employed in the steel industry.

Life in Luxembourg's mining region, at the time a stronghold of the socialist and communist movement, left its mark on the young Juncker, who became acquainted with politics through his father's involvement in the Christian Democrat trade union movement.

Juncker went to boarding school in Belgium and studied law in France, at Strasbourg University.

Politically active since 1974, he became parliamentary secretary of the centre-right Christian Social Party in 1979 and, in 1982, at the age of 28, joined the government as state secretary for labour and social security. He chaired the EU's budget and social affairs Councils in 1985 when Luxembourg held the presidency.

In 1991, as chairman of the Ecofin Council, he left a greater mark. He was credited with being one of the architects of the Maastricht treaty, in particular the chapter on economic and monetary union, parts of which he wrote himself.

13 years on, Juncker is now 'Mr Euro', becoming the permanent voice of the eurogroup, the informal grouping of eurozone finance ministers.

Juncker retained the post of finance minister when he became prime minister in 1995, succeeding Jacques Santer who left to become president of the European Commission.

Described as a Christian Democrat of the 'traditional' type, Juncker was re-elected in 1999 to head a coalition government with the Democratic Party. His party again topped the poll in general elections in June 2004 but Juncker's coalition partner, the Democratic Party, came third with the Socialist Party in second place.

He could have become president of the European Commission this summer, but he resisted strong pressure from France and Germany to forsake Luxembourg.

He celebrated his 50th birthday last week (9 December).

Nicolas Schmit (minister delegate for foreign affairs and immigration)

FATHER-of-four Schmit is a career diplomat turned politician. A former parliamentary secretary of the Luxembourg Socialist Party, he joined the Luxembourg diplomatic service 21 years ago.

He was chef de cabinet to Luxembourg's foreign minister Jacques Poos in the mid-1980s.

In 1990 he was appointed as a counsellor at Luxembourg's Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels. In 1998, he became the country's permanent representative to the EU, a post he held until last Summer's general election.

Described by one 'Perm Rep' insider as a "brilliant" intellectual, 51-year-old Schmit has been closely involved in the creation of several recent landmark EU treaties.

One of the Luxembourg coalition government's most experienced European hands, Schmit participated in the intergovernmental conference which paved the way for the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) and also represented his government as an alternate member on the Convention on the future of Europe.

He lists the presidency's priorities as reaching agreement on the financial perspectives, if possible before July when the UK takes over at the helm, and monitoring the various referenda on the constitution.

Jeannot Krecké (economy and trade minister)

BORN in Luxembourg city in 1950, Krecké is no stranger to the self-proclaimed heart of Europe, having studied at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

A former Luxembourg international footballer, after his studies he became a professor in physical education. He was later a long-standing member, from 1985-97, of the steering committee of the Luxembourg Socialist Party. He is also a treasurer of its parliamentary group.

A keen writer, Krecké is the joint author of several books, including one on taxation and another on the United Kingdom's House of Commons.

Krecké is a relative ministerial novice - he has been in post just six months - but he is widely respected, particularly for his expertise on tax.

Krecké has a reputation in his homeland for being an outspoken politician. A Luxembourg diplomatic source said: "Rest assured, he always tells you exactly what he thinks."

He will have his hands full dealing with some thorny issues, not least the European Commission's proposals to open up the service sector to the internal market.

Luc Frieden (minister of justice, defence treasury and budget)

FOR one so young - he is just 41 - Frieden, a father-of-two, already has an awful lot on his plate.

That is perhaps not too surprising, given that he is one of the best academically qualified people in the Luxembourg coalition government.

In 1987, he obtained a master's law degree from Cambridge University, England, and the following year studied at Harvard Law School in the United States. Just for good measure, he has also studied in Paris.

From 1989-98, he worked as an advocate in Luxembourg, as a specialist in business law. He also taught public law at the Centre Universitaire de Luxembourg and has written several articles on banking and constitutional law.

He was first elected an MP for the Christian Social Party in 1994 and two years later, at the age of 34, was appointed minister for justice and budget.

He was responsible for coordinating the Luxembourg government's preparations for the introduction of the single currency in his country.

Frieden, who has been a governor of the World Bank since 1998, is currently the longest-serving justice minister in the EU.

In that role he has taken a particularly strong stance against terrorism and was a strong advocate of the EU-wide arrest warrant.

François Biltgen (employment, culture, higher education and research minister)

BILTGEN, aged 46, graduated in law from the University of Paris and later went on to study political science at the Institute of Paris.

In 1983, he succeeded Juncker as secretary of the Christian Social Party.

Last year, he was elected president of the party.

He previously had a career as a lawyer in his home town of Esch-sur-Alzette and he has close ties with the trade union movement.

Biltgen made a name for himself in national politics in 1994-99 with a series of key parliamentary reports and for his work on social law.

He joined the government in 1999 as minister for employment and for communications, in which role he was in charge of the e-Luxembourg plan.

Just as important for the Lisbon Agenda of economic reform, he has been active in attempts at labour market reform.

His dossier responsibilites have been adjusted only slightly for the new administration created this Summer. He shares part of his wide-ranging dossier with Jean-Louis Schiltz, minister for development and humanitarian affairs.