The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon ...
Changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union's (EU's) new reformtreaty that took effect on December 1, 2009, have a significant impact on EU ...
handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA516407
Changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union's (EU's) new reformtreaty that took effect on December 1, 2009, have a significant impact on EU ...
handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA516407
Page 1 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress The European Union: Leadership ChangesResulting from the Lisbon Treaty
Derek E. Mix
Analyst in European AffairsMarch 3, 2010 Congressional Research Service7-5700www.crs.govR41088 Page 2 The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon TreatyCongressional Research Service Summary Changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union’s (EU’s) new reform treaty thattook effect on December 1, 2009, have a significant impact on EU governance. The EU is animportant partner or interlocutor of the United States in a large number of issues, but thecomplicated institutional dynamics of the EU can be difficult to navigate. The Lisbon Treaty makes substantial modifications in the leadership of the EU, especially withregard to the European Council, the Council of Ministers, and the EU’s rotating presidency. Everysix months, the “EU Presidency” rotates among the 27 member states. Under the treaty, however,the leader of the presidency country no longer serves as the temporary chair and spokesman of theEuropean Council, the grouping of the EU’s 27 national leaders. This duty now belongs to thenewly created President of the European Council, who serves a once-renewable two-and-a-halfyear term. In addition, the foreign minister of the presidency country no longer chairs themeetings of EU foreign ministers in the Council of the EU (commonly known as the Council ofMinisters). This duty is now performed by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs andSecurity Policy, another newly created position whose holder serves a five-year term and is bothan agent of the Council of Ministers and a Vice President of the European Commission. Many of the day-to-day duties of the rotating presidency country, however, will continue underthe Lisbon Treaty. Ministers of the presidency country will still chair all of the meetings of theCouncil of Ministers other than in the area of foreign policy. The presidency country is expectedto continue preparing and arranging these activities, and playing a leading role in the Council ofMinisters to forge agreement on legislative proposals. The presidency country is also expectedhelp formulate a few broad policy priorities for its tenure. Spain holds the rotating EU presidency for the first half of 2010. The top priority of the Spanishpresidency is implementing the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty. During this transition phase inEU institutional affairs, however, there has been some confusion about what degree ofresponsibility should fall to the Spanish presidency in terms of international issues and overallleadership. Some analysts assert that the EU’s new institutional arrangements will only be workedout and defined in practice as the treaty is implemented, and the Spanish presidency may set someprecedents in how main actors relate to one another. EU foreign policy decisions of a political or security-related nature require unanimousintergovernmental agreement among the 27 member states. In many other issues which mayrelate to external affairs, however, EU members have agreed to pool their decision-makingsovereignty. A number of additional EU actors often have particular relevance in these matters.The President of the European Commission represents the EU externally on issues that aremanaged by the Commission, including many economic, trade, and environmental issues. Manyof the issues in which the European Parliament acts as a “co-legislator,” such as trade and dataprotection, relate to external affairs. Some observers also suggest that the Parliament has becomean increasingly important forum for debating international issues. Changes in the structure of EU governance may be of interest to the second session of the 111thCongress. For more information, also see CRS Report RS21372, The European Union: Questionsand Answers, by Kristin Archick and Derek E. Mix and CRS Report RS21618, The EuropeanUnion’s Reform Process: The Lisbon Treaty, by Kristin Archick and Derek E. Mix.
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The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon TreatyCongressional Research Service Contents The United States and the European Union........................................................................1The Lisbon Treaty and Key EU Leadership Changes ...................................................................1Differences Between the European Council and the Council of Ministers ................... ........ ...2The Rotating Presidency ...................................................................................2Changes Regarding the European Council......................................................................3Changes and Continuities Regarding the Council of Ministers...............................................3Role and Responsibilities of the Rotating Presidency Country ................................................4The Spanish Presidency ............................................................................ .......4Other Key Actors in EU External Affairs.........................................................................5 Contacts Author Contact Information .....................................................................................7
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The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon TreatyCongressional Research Service1 The United States and the European Union The European Union (EU) is an important partner or interlocutor of the United States on a largenumber of global political and economic issues.1 The EU is also a complex, multi-layered entitywhose structure and institutional dynamics are not always clearly understood in Washington, DC(or in Europe, for that matter). Some Members of the U.S. Congress and other U.S. officials regularly meet with theircounterparts from EU institutions and national governments of EU member countries. Just asmany Europeans are admittedly unclear about the role of the Congress in U.S. foreign policy,Americans often express confusion about the exact role of a particular EU official or institution,or about how EU institutions relate to one another. Take, for example, the term “president”: in theEU today, there is a President of the European Council, a President of the European Commission,a President of the European Parliament, and a rotating country presidency of the EU that has acorresponding national president or prime minister. U.S. officials dealing with the EuropeanUnion may still wonder, “who should we be talking to” or even “who am I talking to?” To complicate matters further, the EU is also an entity whose institutional arrangements andgovernance structure are in a state of evolution following the entrance into force of the LisbonTreaty, the EU’s latest institutional reform effort. At the beginning of February 2010, PresidentObama announced that he was not planning to attend the U.S.-EU Summit that was expected tobe held in late May 2010 in Madrid, Spain. The U.S. State Department indicated that confusioncaused by changes to the EU’s leadership and governance arrangements resulting from the LisbonTreaty had contributed to the decision.2This episode reflects a wider lack of clarity in the United States about the implications of theLisbon Treaty on EU leadership, and in particular on the status of the EU’s “rotating presidency,”the role of the EU’s new “permanent president,” and the role of other EU actors involved inrepresenting the European Union on the world stage. The Lisbon Treaty and Key EU Leadership Changes On December 1, 2009, following a lengthy process of ratification by each of the 27 memberstates, the EU adopted the Lisbon Treaty. The treaty introduces reforms intended to remedyperceived shortcomings in the EU’s institutional arrangements and decision-making procedures—it aims to create a more cohesive and coherent EU capable of assuming a stronger global role; tostreamline EU decision-making; and to increase transparency and democratic accountability.3Changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty have a significant impact on the leadership of theEuropean Council, the Council of Ministers, and the EU’s rotating presidency system. 1 See, for example, CRS Report RS22163, The United States and Europe: Current Issues, by Derek E. Mix.2 Andrew Rettman, “US blames Lisbon Treaty for EU summit fiasco,” EU Observer, February 3, 2010, http://euobserver.com/18/29398. 3 For an overview of the Lisbon Treaty and the changes made by the treaty, see CRS Report RS21618, The European Union’s Reform Process: The Lisbon Treaty, by Kristin Archick and Derek E. Mix.
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The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon TreatyCongressional Research Service2 Differences Between the European Council and the Council ofMinisters The European Council and the Council of Ministers are two separate but related institutions of theEuropean Union. The similar names of these entities frequently lead to confusion. The officialname of the Council of Ministers is the Council of the European Union; it is often referred to as“the Council.”The European Council consists of the leaders (the heads of state and/or government) of the 27 EUmember states plus the President of the European Commission.4 The European Council meets atleast four times per year—its meetings are commonly termed “EU summits.” The EuropeanCouncil does not adopt legislation or legal texts: the conclusions published after each meetingdefine general political guidelines for the EU. The institution provides high-level politicaldirection for EU policy-making and a forum for working out consensus on difficult problems andbroad strategic issues. The Council of Ministers is the main decision-making body of the EU: it enacts legislation,usually based on proposals put forward by the European Commission. A minister from eachmember country takes part in Council meetings, with participation configured according to thesubject under consideration (e.g., foreign ministers would meet to discuss the Middle East,agriculture ministers to discuss farm subsidies). There are currently ten different configurationsunder which the Council of Ministers meets.5 Most decisions are made by a formula of QualifiedMajority Voting (QMV), but some areas—such as foreign and defense policy or accepting newmembers—require unanimity. Many Council decisions also require the joint consent of theEuropean Parliament. The Rotating Presidency Every six months—on January 1 and July 1 of each year—the “EU Presidency” rotates amongthe member states. The presidency rotates in a pre-determined order designed to alternatebetween big and small countries, and between older and newer members. Prior to the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, the rotating presidency applied to both the EuropeanCouncil and the Council of Ministers. The leader of the presidency country chaired the EuropeanCouncil for six months, seeking to forge political consensus and shape the EU agenda. He or shealso assumed an enhanced role in representing the EU externally, alongside the President of theCommission and the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. At thesame time, ministers of the presidency country would chair the meetings of the Council ofMinisters, leading in the meetings and configurations relevant to their portfolio. During the debate over ratification, it was widely repeated that the Lisbon Treaty would “replace”the EU’s rotating presidency system with the creation of a new, permanent “EU President.” In 4 For an overview of the main institutions of the European Union, including the European Commission, see CRS Report RS21372, The European Union: Questions and Answers, by Kristin Archick and Derek E. Mix. 5 The ten configurations of the Council of Ministers are General Affairs; Foreign Affairs; Economic and Financial Affairs; Justice and Home Affairs; Employment, Social Policy, Health, and Consumer Affairs; Competitiveness;Transport, Telecommunications, and Energy; Agriculture and Fisheries; Environment; and Education, Youth andCulture.
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The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon TreatyCongressional Research Service3 fact, this assertion grew to become a fairly common misconception. The rotating presidencysystem continues in a modified format. The treaty creates the new position of President of the European Council, who replaces the leaderof the presidency country in that role. Meanwhile, the rotating country presidency retainsconsiderable responsibility in managing the work of the Council of Ministers, and continues tohave an important role in helping to set priorities for the EU agenda. Changes Regarding the European Council As noted above, the Lisbon Treaty creates the new position of President of the European Councilto chair the meetings of the 27 EU heads of state or government. The President is elected by themember states for a term of two-and-a-half years, renewable once. Some had envisioned this position as a driver of EU policy, a heavyweight presidential figurewho would command a high degree of international visibility. In choosing former Belgian PrimeMinister Herman Van Rompuy, however, EU leaders have initially defined this position as moreof a manager who will coordinate the activities of the Council, help ensure policy continuity, andwork to facilitate consensus. According to some analysts, the choice of Van Rompuy confirmsthat even as its members pursue a stronger and more integrated EU, considerations of nationalinfluence and prestige remain key: leaders from both large and small countries sought to avoidestablishing a powerful President who might overshadow or marginalize their own roles. Nevertheless, the intention of the treaty is that Von Rompuy is now expected to represent the EUexternally as its spokesman on political issues and as the main EU interlocutor for foreign leadersat international summits. Van Rompuy is not a well-known international statesman, and will haveto work if he is to gain visibility on the global stage. Changes and Continuities Regarding the Council of Ministers The Lisbon Treaty also creates another important new position to boost the EU’s internationalvisibility: High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which someobservers have labeled “EU foreign minister.” Former EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashtonwas appointed for the first five year term of this new position. Some were surprised at this choice,citing Ashton’s relative lack of foreign policy experience. Ashton is to be the EU’s chief diplomat, exercising the former responsibilities of the Council ofMinisters’ High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (formerly JavierSolana) and the Commissioner for External Relations (formerly Benita Ferrero-Waldner), whooversaw the EU’s foreign aid and development policies. The new High Representative willtherefore be an agent of the Council of Ministers and hold the title of a Vice-President of theEuropean Commission, an institutional adjustment intended to impart greater coherence bymarrying the EU’s political and economic clout in one powerful new office. The HighRepresentative is to have extensive staff support with the creation of a new EU diplomatic corpscalled the European External Action Service. Within the Council of Ministers, Ashton, rather than the foreign minister of the presidencycountry, is to now chair the meetings of the member state foreign ministers that are held under theForeign Affairs configuration. The other nine configurations are to continue to be chaired by therelevant ministers of the rotating country presidency. The General Affairs configuration—whichconsiders “general policy questions” and works to ensure continuity in the overall work of the
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The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon TreatyCongressional Research Service4 Council—is to be chaired by the foreign minister of the rotating country presidency. Prior to theLisbon Treaty, General Affairs and External Relations had been combined in one Councilconfiguration. Role and Responsibilities of the RotatingPresidency Country Many of the day-to-day duties of the presidency country will continue. The presidency country isexpected to work with the new President of the European Council to help prepare and arrange EUsummits and summits between the EU and other countries. It is expected to continue preparing,arranging, and chairing the meetings of the Council of Ministers, other than in the Foreign Affairsconfiguration. This responsibility includes working in the Council of Ministers to forgeagreement on legislative proposals. The presidency country is also expected to continue setting out a few broad policy priorities forits tenure. In the past, such priorities have often been coupled with the launch of strategicinitiatives that have covered a wide range of topics such as international security anddevelopment issues, economic and trade matters, judicial affairs, social policy, and issues specificto particular regions such as the Mediterranean, the Baltic, or the EU’s eastern neighbors. Advocates of the Lisbon Treaty express hope that the new arrangements will have a considerableimpact in this context. The President of the European Council is charged with ensuring greatercontinuity, coherence, and consistency in EU policies. In the past, analysts have asserted that therotating presidency system made the EU too susceptible to frequent shifts in focus, as successivepresidencies chose to emphasize their own preferred initiatives and priorities. Van Rompuy is toimpart a longer-term view as he works with the presidency countries to set and manage the EUagenda. Renewed emphasis has also been placed on the “troika” concept, in which threeconsecutive rotating presidencies coordinate priorities in an 18-month program. The Spanish Presidency Spain holds the rotating EU presidency for the first six months of 2010. The number one priorityof the Spanish presidency is implementing the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty. Spain has pledgedits complete support in getting the new President of the European Council and the new HighRepresentative established and in position to assume their duties. The Spanish presidency haspledged to push for the frontline visibility of these new officials and to foster a cooperativeworking relationship that avoids rivalry between the permanent and rotating presidencies.At the same time, the Spanish presidency represents a transition phase in EU institutional affairs.Both of the new positions are still settling in and setting up their operations—the External ActionService slated to support High Representative Ashton does not yet exist, for example. Until theLisbon Treaty is fully implemented, these circumstances leave a gap that the Spanish presidencyis filling: although some observers have questioned their mandate for doing so, Spanish PrimeMinister Zapatero and Foreign Minister Moratinos are still taking on significant responsibility forthe EU’s external representation.6 For example, Spain intends to take the lead on summits 6 Spain’s priorities for its presidency include a strong external focus, with 11 international summits planned for the EU in the first half of this year: EU-Central America; EU-Morocco; EU-Mexico; EU-Latin America and the Caribbean;EU-United States; EU-Mediterranean Union; EU-Pakistan; EU-Russia; EU-Canada; EU-Chile; and EU-Japan.
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The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon TreatyCongressional Research Service5 between the EU and areas of historical Spanish influence such as Latin America and Morocco.(Spain had also planned to preside over the U.S.-EU Summit some had expected to take place inMay 2010 in Madrid, but which is now likely to be postponed due to President Obama’sannouncement that he does not plan to attend.) Thus, as the new President and High Representative begin to assert themselves, the overall scopeof Spain’s external policy activities is reduced compared to previous rotating presidencies, but isperhaps still greater than what the Lisbon Treaty intends for future ones. Many in the EUadvocate that in the future, all EU summits and summits between the EU and other countriesshould be hosted and chaired in Brussels by the President of the European Council, rather thanhaving any such meetings held in the presidency country. This transition phase is also a time of uncertainty in EU institutional affairs. The language of theLisbon Treaty is fairly vague as to the exact duties of the newly created positions. Analysts assertthat the roles of the key positions in EU external affairs—the President of the European Counciland the High Representative, as well as the President of the Commission and the rotating countrypresidency—will be worked out and defined in practice as the new arrangements areimplemented. The Spanish presidency may set some precedents in how these institutions relate toone another, while also serving to manage a transition phase that leads to more stablearrangements.7 The changes of the Lisbon Treaty are designed to give the EU better tools withwhich to develop a stronger and more coherent global role, but change is seen as occurring overtime and the impact of these changes could take years to measure. Belgium will hold the rotating presidency in the second half of 2010, followed by Hungary andPoland, in succession, in 2011. Other Key Actors in EU External Affairs EU external affairs issues generally fall into one of two categories, differentiated from oneanother by both the nature of decision-making and the EU institutions relevant to that process. First, foreign policy decisions of a political nature, as well as all decisions related to EU securityand defense policy, are the province (in EU terminology, the “competence”) of the member states.Decisions that are adopted unanimously by all 27 member countries are what make up the EU’sCommon Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). This process of “intergovernmental” decision-making takes place in the European Council and the Council of Ministers. Thus, it is in politicalmatters and CFSP that the new President of the European Council and the new HighRepresentative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy are expected, as describedabove, to play the most prominent role (possibly with an occasional assist, as requested, from theleader or foreign minister of the rotating presidency country). Second, in many areas of policy-making, the member countries of the EU have agreed to pooltheir sovereignty. Areas of shared sovereignty that have relevance in external affairs include tradepolicy, environmental policy, and development aid. Such topics are said to fall under the 7 In addition to implementing the Lisbon Treaty and addressing international issues, other priorities of Spain’s EU presidency including managing the continuing effects of the global economic crisis and helping steer economicrecovery in Europe; launching initiatives that strengthen the protection of EU citizens’ rights and liberties;strengthening EU cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs issues (such as counterterrorism, immigration and asylumpolicy, and judicial cooperation); and making progress in negotiations on future EU enlargement.
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The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon TreatyCongressional Research Service6 “Community competence,” and decision-making takes place through the “Community method.”Typically, the European Commission initiates proposed legislation, which is then voted on in theCouncil of Ministers through a system of Qualified Majority Voting—although the EU generallyseeks as broad a consensus as possible in its decision-making, unanimity is not required in thesecases. In the Community method, approval of a measure also usually requires the joint consent ofthe European Parliament (i.e., “co-decision”). Measures approved in this way are subsequentlyregulated or enforced by the European Commission, often with oversight by the EuropeanParliament. The Commission also represents the EU internationally in negotiations on thesetopics (e.g., on trade) or in managing the policies that fall under its competence (e.g., foreign aid). The President of the European Commission will therefore continue to play an important role inrepresenting the EU externally on issues that are managed by the Commission, including, asmentioned above, many economic, trade, and environmental issues. José Manuel Barroso isbeginning his second five-year term as Commission President. Along with the new President ofthe European Council and the new High Representative, Barroso is expected to participate onbehalf of the EU in major international summits. The individual Commissioners also have arepresentative role on those issues which fall under their portfolio (some portfolios have moreexternal aspects than others) and the staff working under each Commissioner in the Commissiondirectorates-general may maintain working relationships with various foreign officials as theirduties require. Prior to the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU “embassies” in many countries around theworld, including in Washington, DC, were actually delegations of the European Commission.Reflective of the EU’s consolidated legal identity under the treaty, these diplomatic posts are nowdelegations of the European Union, and their eventual staffing by the newly created ExternalAction Service is expected to consist of a mixture of personnel drawn from the Commission andthe Council, as well as secondees from national diplomatic services. Many of the issues in which the European Parliament acts as a “co-legislator” bear on externalaffairs in some way. For example, under the Lisbon Treaty the European Parliament now has anenhanced role in EU trade policy. As an additional example, the Parliament’s role in privacy anddata protection issues can affect transatlantic homeland security and counterterrorismcooperation, as recently seen in its rejection of a U.S.-EU agreement on bank data transfers. Although it has no formal role in the CFSP, some observers suggest that the Parliament hasbecome an increasingly important forum for debating international issues. The President of theEuropean Parliament, currently former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, is its toprepresentative and spokesman. The Parliament has 20 standing committees, including a foreignaffairs committee, which often play an influential role in the formulation and oversight of EUpolicies and legislation. The European Parliament also plays a role in the EU’s internationalpresence with 36 delegations that maintain parliament-to-parliament contacts and relations withrepresentatives of most countries around the world.8 8 For more information, see CRS Report RS21998, The European Parliament, by Kristin Archick and Derek E. Mix.
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The European Union: Leadership Changes Resulting from the Lisbon TreatyCongressional Research Service7 Author Contact Information Derek E. MixAnalyst in European Affairsdmix@crs.loc.gov, 7-9116
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