STOCKHOLM — History often moves with small steps, but such steps sometimes turn out to have big implications.

On Dec. 31, Sweden made history in a small way by ending the last rotating foreign and security policy presidency of the European Union. After years of rotation every six months, we handed the job over to the EU's new permanent structures, established in Brussels in accordance with the Lisbon Treaty.

What might look like a small step for mankind is certainly a giant leap for Europe.