Institutions and Externalities: Two EU Strategic Dilemmas

The EU member states face a strategic decision. Either they are going to opt for a full implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, gradually unleashing the full potential of all common institutions, including not only the European Commission and the Parliament but also the office of the permanent president of the European Council as well as the European External Action Service, or they will weaken those institutions, despite the intentions of the Treaty. This dilemma is not new in the integration process. The empty chair crisis or the Maastricht treaty implementation were signs of similar doubts held by the member states that have burdened the EU’s fundamental nature. Today, the problem does have a strategic political dimension, too. It concerns the role of the most important political personalities of the EU: the presidents and prime ministers of the member states, and what their roles will be in the process of initiating EU actions and decision-making.