The First Leadership Test: What to Expect from the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU

Abstract:

On 1 July 2013 Lithuania – for the first time – assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council. This publication analyses the main aspects of the preparations and challenges ahead of the Lithuanian Presidency.

Despite being a small country with limited resources and little experience, Lithuania has the necessary preconditions to make the presidency successful, the author argues. However, the author emphasizes that a number of challenges – not least domestic ones – may prove to constitute serious obstacles to that ambition.