The Presidency

The Role(s) of the Chair in European Union Negotiations

Bibliographic Data

ID12953589
AuthorsOle Elgstrom (0000-0002-3474-1996, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume1
Issue2
Pages171-195
Publication date2006-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Hague Journal of Diplomacy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1871-1901 • E-ISSN: 1871-191X
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/187119006x149526
OpenAlexW2034858704
LanguageEN
Citations received11

Using role theory as its analytical basis, this article delineates and analyses the specific characteristics of the Chair in the European Union (EU). The focus is thus on the EU Council Presidency and on how expectations surrounding the office impact upon its performance as administrator, agenda manager, broker, leader and representative. The EU's institutional design is marked by a rotating Presidency, by relatively short Presidency periods and by a mix of unanimity and majority voting. These traits influence the ways in which the Chair performs its role. The major argument is, however, that existing structurally based expectations of the Presidency's role (that is, expectations of neutrality and impartiality, of effectiveness and of consensus-seeking) interact with the particular role conceptions that are brought to the office by individual member states to produce both common features and variety in role performance. Empirical illustrations are taken from recent EU Presidencies to highlight continuity and fluctuation in Presidency performances

Argument (complex analysis · Economics · European union · Impartiality · International trade · Law and economics · Negotiation · Neutrality · Political science · Politics · Presidency · Public relations · Sociology · Unanimity · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Public Administration

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