With the Lisbon Treaty soon to become reality, the European Union is struggling to find a president and a foreign minister. The dream of an E.U. diplomatic service is within grasp, but will it make a difference? Members of the European Parliament are already warning of a "bureaucratic monster."

It should have been a triumphant week of fireworks and celebratory fanfare. The new Lisbon Treaty has been ratified, and the E.U. is about to embark on a new era, which will finally give Europe an entirely new ability to shape its political future.

Only two leading figures are still being sought to add new luster and generate new momentum for the community: a permanent European Council president,who will endeavor to unite the often quarrelsome European club, and a foreign minister, who will represent the continent on the global stage and act as the voice of the 27 E.U. member countries.

But it will be a difficult week for Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt - and for Europe. This week, the E.U. risks getting egg on its face once again - and Europe will lay the cornerstone for a new mega-bureaucracy.

Now it is up to Reinfeldt - who currently holds the six-month rotating E.U. presidency - to avert the E.U.'s next scandal. The only problem is that some of his colleagues have no desire to allow things to proceed smoothly.