A President for the European Union: A New Actor in Town?

In the post-Constitution EU, the rotating Presidency would be replaced by a hybrid system combining a rotating component with the establishment of a permanent President for the European Council. Using a principal-agent framework, we look at the supply and demand for formal leadership in the new system, accounting for the substantial institutional change in the format of the Presidency. We then examine the President's effectiveness and efficiency and discuss whether the President, as a new institutional actor, has the potential to evolve into an autonomous political actor in the EU. Our analysis suggests a discernible though by no means unconditional strengthening of the President's potential for an autonomous political role in the new EU institutional architecture. Copyright (c) 2007 The Author(s); Journal compilation (c) 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Council Presidency in the European Union: Responsibility with Power

The extent of the Council presidency's political influence is the subject of disagreement among both practitioners and researchers. While some describe the presidency as responsibility without power, others suggest that it provides incumbent states with an opportunity to achieve decision outcomes close to their preferences. This article formulates and tests hypotheses on the conditions under which presidents influence the timing and content of decision outcomes in the legislative arena. Decision outcomes are shown to be significantly more favourable to presidents in the chair at the time of adoption than to other Member States, even after controlling for other factors that influence bargaining success. Copyright (c) 2008 The Author(s). Journal compilation (c) 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.