STOCKHOLM -- Sweden took the helm of the European Union (EU) Monday having vowed to push ahead with three of Europe's most ambitious goals: the eastern expansion of the EU, new employment guidelines and environmental protection, AFP reported.

But the Scandinavian country, assuming the rotating EU presidency for the first time since joining the union in 1995, will be handicapped in its ability to affect the introduction of a common currency, having chosen not to adopt the euro when it is introduced on January 1, 2002.

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine called his Swedish counterpart Anna Lindh late Sunday to pass the baton of the EU presidency on, the Foreign Ministry said in Paris.

Vedrine "had expressed his warm wishes for success in the six months ahead," ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said adding that Lindh had in turn "paid tribute to the work accomplished by the French presidency of the EU, in particular the results of the intergovernmental conference" in Nice, which paved the way for the eastwards enlargement of the 15-member union.

He said the Swedish foreign minister would continue to work toward the commitments undertaken during the French term, particularly in the area of foreign policy.

Prime Minister Goeran Persson has also emphasized a need for building better ties between the EU and Russia and said Sweden will make this a "priority task" during its six-month presidency.

But while Sweden's official line is that it will preside over "active consolidation" of the EU's most ambitious objectives, it will be left out of the biggest issue on the table: the arrival of the euro currency in cash.