AH, THE EU presidency. Has it really been 13 years already? How time flies when the world is falling apart.

It seems like only yesterday we were welcoming José Manuel Barroso (remember him?) and doing all the other memorable things that happen when a country holds the EU presidency… You know the kind of stuff.

Okay, you’ve got me. I can’t actually remember anything about the last time we held the EU presidency. Not because I’m too young or anything like that, just because it seems like this EU presidency business is much ado about very little. Just like a loved-up couple posting on Instagram to celebrate their half-year anniversary, it’s all a bit much for six months.

Nobody else cares that we’re the EU president, for example. You know damn well that you had no idea which country held the EU presidency before our current stint began, and if you do, it’s only because you heard it somewhere this week. It was Cyprus, by the way. Have you noticed yourself feeling any different about Cyprus in the last six months?

On some level, sure, it feels good to think that we, collectively, are the president of the EU for a time. You’re the president of the EU, I’m the president of the EU, we’re all the president of the EU. As for what that really means for any of us, well, it’s only been a few days, but it mostly seems to be about either closing roads, laying down new roads, or doing up some of our old roads (presumably the ones we’re doing up will be allowed to stay open). 

It has been pointed out by some that the government’s long-standing reputation as being eager to impress on the world stage sometimes gives the impression of a willingness to kowtow to whatever the EU might ask of us. Indeed, even hearing the........

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