Although Danish PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt is no newcomer to Strasbourg, she'll find the challenges faced by her country's EU Presidency difficult to tackle.

The News: The MEP Prime Minister

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The place must seem familiar  to Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

During the 5th parliamentary term,  1999-2004, the not-yet Danish PM

defended four reports on workers'  protection in the Strasbourg plenary.

But the matters she has to deal with now  are vastly more complex than 10 years ago:

putting the European economy  back on track,

saving the euro,  of which Denmark is not even a member,

and finding agreement  on financial market regulation

without losing sight of the other issues  that any Council Presidency must tackle.

Fiscal restraint is crucial to stabilising  our economies and restoring confidence.

But as the social market economy model  has proved so successful over the decades,

it must continue to be our guiding principle  through and beyond the current crisis.

A lot of debate had arisen prior to  Denmark taking over the Presidency

on whether another non-euro state leading  the EU amidst the crisis was a good idea.

No reason to worry, says this Irish MEP.

It's a good idea, in fact, and the Prime  Minister made it clear this morning

that she intends to behave in an impartial,  proper manner. I think that's a good thing.

Addressing the plenary, the Prime Minister  was upbeat about chances the crisis offers.

We are in a very serious crisis.  How can we get out of it?

By consolidating our economies - that's  austerity measures and other things.

But secondly, we also need to  create growth and employment.

And that is actually an opportunity  for Europe to move forward.

Sounds easy. At the end of June 2012,  the Danish Presidency will be measured

by whether it could make  at least part of it work.