The European Council and the Rotating EU Council Presidency: Patterns of Cooperation and Rivalry Beyond the Formal Treaty Rules

This chapter analyzes the functioning and relationship between the European Council and the rotating EU Council Presidency. Starting from a principal-agent perspective, it finds that the agenda-setting function of the Council Presidency is small. As national leaders define the Union’s main topics and priorities, a key task of the rotating Council Presidency is to follow-up on and implement the European Council’s conclusions in the form of legislative acts. Moreover, the Presidency must organize the Council’s daily business, especially in times of EU crises. We document the tasks of the Council Presidency and its relationship with the European Council through a close examination of the German and French EU Council Presidency in 2020 and 2022, respectively. The chapter ends with a discussion about recent reform proposals on the functioning of the European Council and the rotating EU Council Presidency.