On July 1, Denmark will take over chairpersonship of the European Union. Then it will be the responsibility of the newly elected right-wing Danish prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to help define and promote the global role of the only group of nations in a position to challenge the dominance of the us in the international arena.

A first major test will be the summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg. Last year, the Danish government launched the idea of a