Paris  -  France's six-month presidency of the European Union will be judged by its success in advancing legislation on the environment and global warming, French Junior Minister for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet said.

"Environment and climate will be the determining factors" regarding the success or failure of France's EU presidency, Jouyet was quoted as saying in Wednesday's edition of the weekly Le Nouvel Observateur.

France takes over the EU presidency from Slovenia on July 1.

Because there had been a number of public misunderstandings on the issue within the government, Jouyet last month brought together Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo, two of his junior ministers and French and European lawmakers of all parties.

Similar meetings are expected to be held on other important EU issues, such as defence, the common agricultural policy and immigration. (dpa)