Conclusions: Towards a Theory of Leadership Styles in the European Council

The main aim of this book was to study the leadership style characterised “as behaviour with a task and a relationship dimension” (Northouse, 2013, p. 83) of selected long-term heads of states and governments through observations of their followers at the national level and in the European Council to understand the constitutive dynamics between the leaders and the European Council environment and its impact on decision-making. Although the European Council sets strategic priorities for the European Union and is the seat of the European leadership, little is known about the internal processes of its decision-making. The heads of state and government are meeting behind closed doors, and so the internal dynamism in the European Council remains blurred, despite its impact on the cohesion of the EU, and the interest of its members to look for common solutions and implement them.