Bulletin n. 1/2017 | ||
June 2017 | ||
Roberto Adam |
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La presidenza del Consiglio dell'Unione europea | ||
in Diritto dell'Unione europea , no. 3 , 2016 , 441-463 | ||
The present paper provides an in-depth analysis of EU Council presidency system set up by the Lisbon Treaty. The plurality that characterises the traditional rotating presidency (as many presidents as are the configurations and the preparatory groups of the EU Council) has now become particularly complex. Since the Lisbon Treaty not only the rotating presidency is formally organized of groups of three Member States sharing the presidency of EU Council's configurations for 18 months (trio presidency); but the presidency of some configurations and preparatory bodies has been entrusted to elected chairs (such as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presiding CFA and its preparatory filière, the chairs of several committees operating in the financial sector or the CFSP) or institutional chairs (such as the representatives of the Secretary-General presiding a few working gruops). The goal was the search for a balance between rotation and continuity instances in the functioning of the Council presidency. The result is a reduction of the functions of the rotating presidency: the external representation of the Council is now up to the High Representative; the trio of presidencies limits the programmatic autonomy of the acting presidency. Nevertheless, the rotating presidency has increased its responsibilities in the management of the negotiation within the Council. And thanks to the trilogues under the ordinary legislative procedure, it has taken on a key role in the EU decision-making process, where its power is necessarily placed at the service of the Union. This makes it the most institutional presidency among the different presidencies of the European Union. | ||