European Union Council Presidencies. A comparative perspective

Book abstract:

It has been said that everyone has 'fifteen minutes of fame' and we may know or be totally unaware of when that might happen. However for Presidents of the European Union Council that fifteen minutes stretches to six months and they have significant advance notice of the forthcoming event. Indeed there is an industry, if not indeed a professional life plan, embedded in the preparation for 'the Presidency'. That each one will approach it in a different way is a given - it will be a signature tune - and each one will echo the Sinatra hit 'I did it my way'.

This book examines seven European Union Council Presidencies and describes the functions of the Presidency. The work is comprised of twelve chapters including an introduction and conclusion. Chapters two to four analyse the three political functions of the Presidency - agenda-shaping, mediation, and external representation. The following chapters five to eleven present seven Presidency experiences, embracing southern and northern, big and small, old and new and supranational and sovereignty-oriented Member States. The concluding chapter draws on the earlier experiences and insights gained from the country reports to assess the nature of the Presidencies and to explore possibilities for enriching our understanding of the Presidency as an institution.

The work will interest scholars, students engaged in political sciences, European Union studies and comparative politics.

Ole Elgström is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Lund University, Sweden.