INTBUS 6 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Treaty Of Lisbon, Presidency Of The Council Of The European Union, Luxembourg Compromise
15 Oct 2020
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xASSIGNMENT 5 – The European Council and the Council of the European union
1) The European Council
Structure
- Established as a result of the need for more intergovernmental cohesions by Heads of Governments
o Had to result in political agreements between national leaders →unofficial approach (like the
Luxembourg compromise) → gradual constitutionalisation → established by Lisbon treaty
o Objectives led by preferences of national leaders → decides for itself what it does
o Mainly in frame of TEU
- Heads of State or Government, President of Commission, European Council President
o High Representative participates to work but is not a part of it
o several hundreds of officials participate in meetings
- Made of delegations plus the commission
o Delegations: 20 people
- President:
o Prior to Lisbon: rotation of president every 6 months → replace with position of semi-permanent
president position to strengthen the institutional position of the European Council and its power of
control of political direction
o Appointment: elected by member of European Council by QMV for max. 5 years although
unanimity preferred
o Forceful personality from a large MS, mediating and chairing skills and political experience
o Powers and influence
▪ Has personal cabinet of 15 officials
▪ Can call on the Secretariat when needed
▪ Improvement of the European Council
a) Chair and drive forward its work
b) Ensure preparation and continuity of the work European Council in cooperation with the
president of the Commission
c) Facilitate cohesion and consensus within the European Council
d) Shall present a repost to the European Parliament
▪ Ensure external representation of the Union on issues over common foreign and security
policy
▪ Keep in touch with the permanent representation of the MS to facilitate decision-making
➔ Conciliatory, consensus -seeking role
- Organisation :
o Summits four times a year in Brussels within min 2 days
o Agenda: general economic situation, enlargement, contextual environment (financial, migration
crisis), Discussions and negotiations over MFF, business left over from previous summits (like
Brexit), decisions and declarations over external relations
o Conduct:
▪ decision made by unanimity (aka consensus)
▪ larger states have more political and economic weight, they can be more insistent
▪ influence vary between policy areas, standing and competences of governmental head
and the resolve of MS to want to maximise its potential influence
▪ quite often , Ms don’t agree on a draft, agree only on mot prominent matters
Responsibilities
- Setting overall parameters of EU system → institutional and policy development
- Defines general political directions and priorities →medium and long-term goals
- Meets twice every sixth months
- Members may be assisted by ministers
- Decisions are taken by consensus
- Not a law-maker → no legislator, only political decisions
o Political decisions to create understanding and confidence between governments of EU MS →
history-making
o Coordination of EU policy goals and activities
- Council is free to decide what it may and may not do → activities vary according to preferences of the
participants and changing circumstances and requirements → role not fixed
1) Evolution of the European Union
▪ Reviewing and guiding evolution of the EU
▪ Constitutional and institutional reforms, EMU and enlargement
▪ Main areas: jobs, growth and competitiveness; empowering and protecting citizens; energy and
climate policies; freedom, security and justice; EU as a global actor → in Strategic agenda in times
of change
▪ Progression of internal market
▪ Framework principles
▪ Parameters of EU income and expenditure determining MFF
2) Constitutional and institutional matters
▪ Important decisions related to treaty development and reform
▪ Institutional matters (seats, etc…)
▪ Personnel decisions:
▪ appointment of its president,
▪ appointment of High representative and officials of ECB (President, Vice-president and
board members),
▪ proposes candidate for Commission president to EP
3) Economic and monetary policies of the European Union
▪ European Council as centre of gravity in EU responses to crisis
▪ Consideration and authorization of actions relating to the crisis
▪ Global financial crisis 2008, Eurozone and Greek crisis in 2010 → EU-level response
▪ Controlling inflation, tackling unemployment and encouraging investment
4) Enlargement
▪ Most important decision regarding enlargement are taken by the European Council
▪ Considering applications, authorizing opening and closing of negotiations, hearing reports from
Commission about negotiations, deciding whether negotiations are successfully concluded, setting
accession dates
▪ Less intense since last enlargement
5) External relations
▪ Guidance role over principles and direction of EU’s foreign and security policy
▪ Identify strategic interests
▪ Determine objectives
▪ Define guidelines of foreign and security policies
▪ Adopt necessary decisions,
▪ General and strategic guidelines
▪ implementation by the Council → ensures unity, consistency and effectiveness of Union’s
actions
▪ Coordination of EU’s position in international negotiations (US, Russia, China, Japan, G8, G20) →
External trade, Development, Climate change, Energy → sometimes uneasy division of labour for
representation (Commission, Council or High Representative)
▪ Declarations on international political affairs
6) Specific internal policy issues
▪ Because of non-sectorial nature, it is the best placed institution to put together broad-ranging
policies
▪ Its status give its role to determine them → national leaders should deal with them
▪ Policy initiation on immigration, drugs, and terrorism
▪ Policies of controversial nature: climate change, energy and migration
▪ Less concerned with arbitrating and acting as final court of appeal on internal policy but more with
encouraging and guiding
Impact on EU-institutions
- Less power of commission for policy initiation as European Council expresses preferences (but president of
Commission also in Council so not that bad)
- Council lost some decision-making autonomy as governmental heads are final decision-makers (but not as
significant as the European Council doesn’t meet as other anyway)
- EP lost power: reports and proposition of EP to European Council are not sure to be taken into account
2) The Council of the European Union
RESPONSABILITIES
Policy and law-maker (legislative function)
- Taking policy and legislative decisions is principal responsibility
- Dependence on cooperation with Commission and EP in policy and decision-making
o Though Council has most room for independent manoeuvre when it’s not acting within Community
method → EP and Commission’s roles are then restricted
o Community method does not apply in foreign and defence policy
- Community method: two limitations on the council
o Restricted to act on proposals by the commission
o EP has very important legislative power → co-decision procedure
- Boost of Council’s policy role
o Article 241 TFEU: Council can ask the Commission to undertake specific law proposals
o Ability to adopt recommendations an opinion to pressurize commission
o Increasing size and specialisation of council’s machinery
o Propensity to use council conclusions to indicate member states’ preferences
o Increasing willingness of MS for cooperation on non-binding agreements → no need of initiation by
the Commission
➔ Political weight: Commission has to pay close attention to minister’s wishes
Executive
- For policy implementation, Commission works through committees of national governments
- Committees gives council executive powers (even though not officially a part of it)→ challenges Commission
and executive decisions
- Most obvious direct Council executive activity : foreign and defence policy areas
o Most executive decisions involve operationalisation of principled positions pronounced earlier by
European Council and Council itself
Mediator
- Key responsibility in activities of mediation and consensus-building
o Developing mutual understanding between MS on EU matters
o Council participants have ability to compromise in negotiations
➔ Mediations have become more difficult with enlargement as more difficult policy matters
were tackled
- Council has gained and lost responsibilities
o Extended scope of policy interests → more spheres of public policy
Document Summary
Xassignment 5 the european council and the council of the european union: the european council. Established as a result of the need for more intergovernmental cohesions by heads of governments: had to result in political agreements between national leaders unofficial approach (like the. Luxembourg compromise) gradual constitutionalisation established by lisbon treaty: objectives led by preferences of national leaders decides for itself what it does, mainly in frame of teu. Heads of state or government, president of commission, european council president: high representative participates to work but is not a part of it several hundreds of officials participate in meetings. Made of delegations plus the commission: delegations: 20 people. Forceful personality from a large ms, mediating and chairing skills and political experience. Improvement of the european council: chair and drive forward its work, ensure preparation and continuity of the work european council in cooperation with the president of the commission.
