Publication

This briefing paper discusses the mandate which this updated team presidency now has in the reformed institutional architecture of the EU. The policy-making arrangements in both general affairs and foreign affairs are especially noteworthy from the point of view of the post-Lisbon Council presidency. With this analytical focus in mind, it is suggested that the Council presidency's administrative and managerial functions in EU decision-making are still central, while many formal political powers were lost during the latest round of treaty reform. In this context, it is safe to say that a common identity among trio members would serve the purpose of the reform. It would enhance effective decision-making, increase continuity in the Council and, as such, point to a new managerial identity for the Council presidency.