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31. Single voice, single chair? How to re-organise the EU in international negotiations under the Lisbon rules

Author:
Piotr Maciej Kaczyński
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December taught many lessons to the participating stakeholders. The European Union learned that a choir of European leaders could not sing convincingly even with a single voice. These lessons are still being processed in many national capitals and in Brussels, especially in the context of the new legal framework provided for by the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 1 December 2009. It is important to recognise, however, that the new rules came into effect only after nine long years of negotiations and its application is being tested in a wholly different international environment than prevailed in the early 2000s.
Topic:
International Relations, Climate Change, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Europe, United Nations, and Lisbon

32. European Foreign Policy after Lisbon: Strengthening the EU as an International Actor

Author:
Kateryna Koehler
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
Institution:
The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
Abstract:
Following years of compromise, the Treaty of Lisbon finally came into force on December 1, 2009. This article analyses the new substantive law regulations and institutional arrangements of the Lisbon Treaty in the field of external relations and their impact on the effectiveness of the European foreign policy and the European Union as an international actor. For this purpose, this paper starts with analyses of the principle of coherence and continues with the reformed structure and legal personality of the EU, which was previously a serious challenge for the coherence of the EU's foreign policy. Finally, this article examines the functions and implications of institutional innovations, namely, the positions of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the President of the European Council and the European External Action Service. This paper argues that the Treaty of Lisbon improves the preconditions for a higher degree of coherence in European external relations and strengthens the EU as an international actor, even if the success of the European foreign policy, especially in the field of CFSP, still depends to a great extent on the Member States' willingness to cooperate.
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

33. Now Who Answers the Phone in Europe? Cooperation within the CFSP after the Enlargements and the Lisbon Treaty

Author:
Nelli Babayan
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
Institution:
The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
Abstract:
Despite its alleged inconsistency, the foreign policy of the European Union was successful with the enlargements of 2004 and 2007. The enlargements resulted in an increased number of EU members with important votes in qualified majority voting (QMV) and crucial influence over the unanimous decision-making. Meanwhile, the Lisbon Treaty is meant to foster greater cooperation among the member-states and make the EU speak with one voice in terms of foreign policy. This article analyses the political and institutional dynamics in the EU foreign policy decision-making process after the enlargements and in the wake of the Lisbon Treaty. Focusing on the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the article tracks the dynamics in the CFSP evolution and identifies the potential impact the Lisbon Treaty may have on the consistency and coherence of EU foreign policy. The findings show that contrary to predictions the enlargements did not have negative effects on the institutional or political dynamics of the CFSP. However, the Lisbon Treaty, by introducing new institutions and responsibilities as part of creating more efficient institutional framework, has instead created confusion and institutional competition.
Topic:
Security and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

34. The belittled trio: Towards a new managerial identity for the rotating EU Council presidency

Author:
Kaisa Korhonen
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The presidency of the Council of the European Union is still alive and rotating, albeit in a somewhat modified form, after the entering into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009. At the same time as the prerogatives of the Council presidency were decreased in number by the new treaty, it was overshadowed by two new political figures with presidential mandates–the President of the European Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The post-Lisbon role of the Council presidency was tentatively deemed politically unimportant and limited to administrative assistance only. After a year with the Treaty of Lisbon in place, a more nuanced analysis of this new role is, however, justified.
Topic:
Security, Regional Cooperation, and Governance
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

35. Editorial: Dispatch from the Euro Titanic: And the Orchestra Played On Snippets From the Mail Box of the Editor: Poaching Masthead Changes In this Issue

Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
These are challenging times for the European Union. Internally, important, even fundamental, decisions are on the agenda as the Union struggles with the Euro crisis and its underlying economic fissures. (Mercifully, the scapegoating of the USA as an escape from facing Europe's very own breathtaking governmental and private-sector financial and fiscal irresponsibility has all but disappeared – mercifully, since facing reality unflinchingly is a necessary condition for dealing with it effectively.) What is subprime in Europe is the decisional structure of the Union: the European Politburo – President of the Commission, newly-minted President of the Council, tired-old-more-senseless-than-ever rotating Member State Presidency, recycled High Representative answerable to two bosses and thus to none – has proven at best irrelevant to the real actors in you know where (Berlin, Paris, the formidable Merkel, the erratic Sarkozy), at worst distracting – was the able President of the Council's productive moves really helped by the forced tango with his opposite number at the Commission? About a year after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, it is clear that at least some of the principal objectives intended by the new decisional structure at the top are turning out to be as ineffective (some claim laughable) as critics anticipated.
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

36. The Treaty of Lisbon: Half Way toward a Common Investment Policy

Author:
Wenhua Shan and Sheng Zhang
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
As a follow-up study on the external investment policy of the EU, this article attempts to analyse the relevant provisions in the Lisbon Treaty and assesses their legal implications on the international investment treaty practice of the Union and its Member States. It first briefly reviews the EU's foreign investment competence before the Treaty of Lisbon, followed by an assessment of the different views concerning the interpretation of the Lisbon Treaty provision including 'foreign direct investment' under the common commercial policy. The practical legal implications of the change are discussed in the third part, including intra- and extra-EU investment treaty practices. It is concluded that while the change is significant and will greatly enhance the treaty-making competence of the EU in external investment areas, it is only a half way success toward a full common investment policy (CIP). Potential paths to achieve the ultimate goal are also briefly explored.
Political Geography:
Lisbon

37. Démocratie, cohérence et transparence. Vers une constitutionnalisation de l'Union européenne?

Author:
Juan Santos Vara
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
This interesting edited book is the outcome of a research project carried out by Bologna University, the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, and financed by the Jean Monnet Action of the European Commission. The main themes which guided this research are democracy, coherence, and transparency in the European Union. Since these issues pertain to the great challenges currently affecting the constitutional structure of the EU, one welcomes this choice of the coordinators of this research project. The book includes articles which analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the constitutional system of the EU with respect to these themes. While the original objective was to examine whether the Constitutional Treaty had satisfactorily responded to the demands for democracy, coherence, and transparency, the abandonment of the constitutional path redirected the research to analysing whether the EU would respect these principles with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon.
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

38. Understanding Klaus: The Story of Czech Eurorealism

Author:
Mats Braun
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
It is somewhat ironic that Czech eurosceptics managed to delay the ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty at a time when they seem to be in decline as a political force. President Klaus and his allies are becoming increasingly isolated within Czech political circles and lack the support of any established political party other than the Communists. The twin pressures of domestic vote utilisation and socialisation at the EU level are making Czech eurorealists within the Civic Democratic Party less eurosceptic. It is still too early to speak of any complete change within the party, however, and any evidence of a reorientation of the party's EU policy remains ambiguous.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

39. The European External Action Service: Roadmap for Success

Author:
Brian Crowe
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Even the largest EU member states are no longer in a position on their own to shape international events or the world we all live in. Acting together in the EU they have shaped the international trade agenda. They have been much less successful in foreign policy for a combination of reasons, largely lack of will and poor arrangements. The Lisbon Treaty sets out to remedy the second of these, perhaps helping also to remedy the first in a world in which that becomes increasingly vital for European interests.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Government, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon

40. The Post-2010 Lisbon Process: The Key Role of Education in Employment and Competitiveness

Author:
Daniel Gros and Felix Roth
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper points out that education should be the central objective of the post-2010 Lisbon Process. Compared to other OECD countries, the member states of the European Union perform poorly when it comes to key indicators of innovative potential, such as the percentage of students enrolled in tertiary education and the educational quality of Europe's students. Education makes a three-fold contribution to a country's economic health. First it is beneficial for employment rates, second it is a key driver for long-term economic growth and third it appears to be beneficial for social cohesion. It will be crucial for European countries to attain higher levels of tertiary education and increase the quality of their education.
Topic:
Economics, Education, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Lisbon