French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in combative mood as France assumed leadership of the European Union, criticizing the bloc's trade chief and warning Europe's central bank against hiking interest rates.

Some analysts have questioned whether Sarkozy's sometimes brash and often direct style will be suited to the task of building consensus among the EU's 27 member nations. France is taking over the rotating six-month presidency amid high oil prices, economic challenges posed by the euro's strength over the U.S. dollar and uncertainty about the bloc's future after Ireland rejected an EU reform treaty in June.

Sarkozy, in a television interview June 30, reiterated that France's priorities during its half-year at the helm would be in stemming the influx of illegal immigrants, combatting global warming and softening the blow of high oil prices.

He said Europeans wanted the EU to protect them against threats coming from globalization. France says the EU risks alienating Europeans if it fails to take care of their day-to-day concerns.

Irish voters' rejection of the EU reform treaty June 13 has cast a pall over France's EU presidency. The treaty, which took years to draft and was signed last year in Portugal, aims to streamline the way the bloc makes decisions, and bolsters its powers in such areas as immigration and fighting crime.

However, the treaty faced further difficulty when Polish President Lech Kaczynski said on July 1 that he will not sign the Union's treaty for now.

The treaty can only take effect in 2009 if ratified by all 27 EU states. To date, 18 have done so.