The European Council Europe’s most exclusive club (Dinan p.248 2nd ed. 1999)

p.33 Pinder 'The European Union' 2001 EU Institutions European Council COM ESC Court of Auditors Cte Of Regions Commission European Parliament Court of First Instance Court of Justice The straight lines show direct Relationships between the Institutions, e.g. the Court of Justice And the Court of first Instance are Entirely independent of the others

Who is the European Council each member state’s top political leaders, i.e. Prime Ministers ; in the case of France this person is also the Head of State, i.e. the President, presently Jacques Chirac

When/Where does European Council meet? meetings are referred to as summits summits take place in the country which has the Presidency of the EU ‘meets at least twice a year’ (Art. 4 TEU), but often additional ‘extraordinary’ summits during each Presidency, so often 4 meetings per year

What happens at European Council meetings a two day affair, begin with lunch, ends on afternoon of day two a formal dinner - to show case best of state’s cuisine etc. ‘fireside chat’ - informal atmosphere, … difficult intractable issues often discussed until wee hours when hunger, fatigue, and/or exasperation gets better of the participants!

What happens at European Council meetings to lead the EU at the highest political level –‘the European Council shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and shall define the general guidelines thereof’ Art. 4 formerly Art.D TEU to resolve otherwise intractable problems –Nice Treaty, only the Heads of Governments could make a deal on the extremely sensitive issues

The Job of the European Council The European council's major political role in developing the European union –Giving impetus to the European Union and defining general political guidelines –Coordinating and arbitrating difficult questions and overcoming impasses

Job of European Council SPECIFIC TASKS ASSIGNED BY THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION –Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) –Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters –Economic and Monetary Policy — Employment

European Council ROOTED IN PRACTICAL POLITICS, WELL HIDDEN IN THE TREATIES

2003 First half-yearGreece Second half-yearItaly 2004 First half-yearIreland Second half-yearNetherlands 2005 First half-yearLuxembourg Second half-yearUnited Kingdom 2006 First half-yearAustria Second half-year Presidency of the European Council

The Presidency Holding the office of Presidency involves three primary tasks. Firstly, Ireland will preside over all meetings of the Council and its constituent working groups for those six months. Ireland will also have to represent the Council in its dealings with the other Institutions and Bodies of the EU, such as the Commission and European Parliament. Finally, Ireland acts on behalf of the EU in relations with countries outside the EU and also represents the EU in international fora such as at the United Nations and World Trade Organisation.

The Rotating Presidency Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's Prime Minister, has put the final nail in the coffin of the EU's system of six-month rotating presidencies, as his Nazi jibe left Italy's term at Europe's helm in turmoil. A draft constitution for the EU proposes the creation of a semi-permanent president of the European Council who would take the post occupied by Mr Berlusconi( up to Dec2003). Although that was being resisted by small countries, EU diplomats and officials conceded that the battle to keep the rotating presidency is effectively over, following the Italian premier's extraordinary outburst.[Posted on 07/05/ :47:31 PM PDT by Pokey78 ]Pokey78

Commentary on the Rotating Presidency But this 'rotating presidency' is widely recognised as working poorly: the government in charge often pushes its own pet projects, while countries in other parts of the world find it confusing that the people running the EU keep changing. –(A primer on the EU's Constitution By Charles Grant and Daniel Keohane Published: 23 May 2003, Wall Street Journal online)

Commentary on Rotating Presidency: 20 April 2004 Prime Minister Blair - Statement to Parliament on the EU White Paper and the EU Constitution 20 April 2004 Because of enlargement, Europe is sensibly seeking to change the way it works. In a Europe of 25 or 27 or 28, a rotating 6-month Presidency makes no sense; the use of the veto should be confined to the areas where it is truly necessary, otherwise decision-making becomes paralysed, and in certain areas, terrorism, security, economic reform, the environment, Europe must do more and do it better.

Prodi on the ‘rotating Presidency’ The President of the European Union Commission, Romano Prodi, has said that the system of rotating the union's presidency every six months is "untenable" in the long term. …the current system - where each country takes its turn at the head of the union - is "ineffective political tourism". "We can't go on spinning around like this. This is a big, big, big problem for us to work, like we do now, with different negotiating cultures and different people," he said. (9 Jan 2001)

The Rotating Presidency and the proposed new Constitutional Treaty The new President of the European Council The European Council will elect its President with a qualified majority vote for a renewable term of two and a half years.The President, who must not hold any national office, will chair and drive forward the work of the European Council. S/he will represent the Union externally on issues concerning the EU’s commonforeign and security policy, without interfering withthe responsibilities of the new Foreign Minister (see Art I- 21(2)). mandated by the European Council. S/he will also chair the Foreign Affairs Council. The new Foreign Minister willbecome vice-president of the Commission and the present position of Commissioner for External Affairs will cease to exist. When conducting the Union’s externalrelations, the Foreign Minister will be bound by the Commission’s procedures.