European Journeys

As the transition process in Sweden gets underway, I'm heading off to other European countries for different discussions.

Tomorrow I'm off to Istanbul for a dinner and discussion on the future of Turkish business in the European Union.

I do expect the Turkish economy to be one of the more vibrant and dynamic in the years ahead, and it will have to make its voice heard also in Brussels on different issues of concerns.

From Istanbul I'm heading off on Thursday to Lyon in France for the annual summer meeting of the European Ideas Network.

It's the annual intellectual brainstorming linked to the centre-right EPP-EDG group in the European Parliament. And I'm joining a list of speakers that also includes European Commission President Barroso and French presidential contender Sarkozy.

And from Lyon I'm heading Friday to Berlin for the Bertelsmann International Forum, where my task is to discuss whether we are on the verge of a failure for the combined Western policies from the Middle East to the Hindu Kush.

I fear that's a very relevant question - although the answer might not be immediately obvious.

And from there I'm heading home to Stockholm again, where the hand-over preparations should by then have proceeded a fair bit.