The Post-Lisbon European Council Presidency: An Interim Assessment

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of the European Council in the post-Lisbon period. Having a standing president is a major innovation: the European Council is no longer subject to national grandstanding, occasional weak leadership and uneven presidential performance. The new arrangement provides continuity and consistency. Herman Van Rompuy became the first elected president in an exceptionally challenging policy environment, with the European Council emerging as a quasi-permanent forum for crisis management. Fissures erupted between the eurozone members and non-members; between and among the big and small member states; and between the United Kingdom and the rest. A preliminary assessment suggests that the standing European Council presidency and Van Rompuy’s incumbency have been highly beneficial for the EU, which fared better than it otherwise would have under the pre-Lisbon rotating presidency.