Mazzucelli, Colette. (2008) Leadership in the European Union: Assessing the Significance of the Trio Council Presidency. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 8, No. 17, August 2008. [Working Paper]
Abstract
[From the Introduction]. This analysis highlights potential challenges to rotation among successive Trio Presidencies by the new European Council President in the provision of leadership that accommodates divergent interests in a Union of 27+ members. The relationship between the Trio Presidency and the proposed European Council President is one that must be defined carefully in practice. This is necessary to ensure that the balance of power does not tip to advantage the latter personality at the expense of the former. Another feature of an increasingly complex institutional system that raises questions in terms of leadership capacity is the position defined in the Lisbon Treaty as the High Representative for Security Policy and Defense. Given all the responsibilities the person in this post inherits, it is necessary to ask if leadership on behalf of the Union is realistically possible to achieve. A corollary observation is that omni directional (tous azimuts) bilateral arrangements, often referenced in the literature as 'multiple bilateralism,' occur with greater frequency in a larger Union. This analysis draws the implications of these experiences for leadership in Europe’s transnational polity.
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