The Politics, Significance, and Prospects of the New EU Leadership - Literature review Example

The Politics, Significance, and Prospects of the New EU Leadership The Politics, Significance, and Prospects of the New EU LeadershipAfter an eight year process to promote greater democracy, transparency, and efficiency in the European Union, the Lisbon Treaty was adopted as a law in 2009 (BBC, 2014). Subsequently, the treaty became the basis of the European Union constitution throwing out the previous constitution. The Lisbon Treaty initially faced opposition from Irish voters however the treaty gathered significant support during the second referendum. The Lisbon Treaty introduced many changes into the constitution some of which include changes to the tenure for the president of the European Council, introduction of the post High Representative, redistribution of voting weightage, and so on (BBC, 2014). Despite having various similarities with the draft constitution, the Lisbon Treaty was an attempt to start anew thereby replacing all earlier treaties. Hence, the Treaty of Lisbon is important because it amended two critical treaties before it - the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community. The main purpose of the treaty was to start again with a treaty that replaces the previous ones at the same time encouraging the democratic process and promoting transparency. The main objection to the previous constitution came from France and Netherlands in 2005 with an optimism by the United Kingdom for amendments. The agreement of the Lisbon Treaty took about eight years to fully pass after the effort was initiated in 2001 at the Laeken Summit. The final draft was accepted in 2007 but it took two more years for the Lisbon Treaty to be adopted without any opposition as the Irish voters agree as well (BBC, 2014). Therefore, the Lisbon Treaty stemmed from the recognition of the need to have an amending treaty that was fresh, replaced the previous treaties, and addressed the new challenges being faced by the European Union. Herman Van Rompuy - who was the Prime Minister of Belgium - was formally elected by the European Council on 1 December 2009, the same day the Lisbon Treaty was accepted as law (Piris, 2010). Van Rompuy was the first President of the European Union whose position was full time. Being the first elected President of the EU after the Lisbon Treaty, there was a great need to have a full-time President for the union. The earlier form of presidency which ran for six months was not efficient enough in the long run and could not focus on the larger issues. There are also time constraints involved where part time presidents could not fulfill their duties as well. So, Van Rompuy was the first full-time President to be elected after the Lisbon Treaty. It can be observed that efficiency was one of the reasons for the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty and hence, the election of a full-time President with a term of two and half years was expected to be more efficient. Catherine Ashton was appointed as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs (Piris, 2010). The position had a stipulated tenure of five years, large enough to ensure a consistent contribution towards the challenges being faced by the EU. The five year time span also ensured the continuity of key strategic positions that were to be employed. While being the High Representative Ashton was also to serve as the president of Foreign Affairs Council and the Vice President of the Commissioner (Piris, 2010). Piris (2010) described Ashton’s role as a “complex” as well as a leading role by Van Rompuy due to their involvement in the imposition of the provisions. After being elected as the President of the EU and taking his office, Van Rompuy had to address two major issues relating to foreign affairs and economic governance as identified by Laursen (2012). Van rompuy’s approach to addressing the issues effectively was to reduce the time gap between meetings and increasing their frequency so that meetings took place on a monthly basis. In each meeting agendas were discussed with further scheduling of sessions to ensure prompt action on the issues. In addition, Van Rompuy also distributed his cabinet into two parts each concerning external relations and the economics. Hence, Van Rompuy’s focus remained on the two main issues which was confirmed by the way his cabinet was structured around the issues. This was done in order to ensure that proper attention was given to the core issues and according to Laursen (2012), Van Rompuy’s approach was seminal in managing the financial crisis which had hit internationally. Catherine Ashton’s role was equally important as that of the President’s however many examiners have downplayed her performance, especially during the first six months of their office. In particular, most of the criticism for Ashton came from the European Parliament and the member states of the EU. In his book, Laursen (2012) explains that Ashton’s criticism stems from the fact that she was not given the chance to use her double hatting skills so as to develop cohesiveness in the institutional policy making combining the economic and financial metrics with the political framework. However, it can be noted that the European Parliament has not always opposed to her as this is indicated in the overwhelming support for her service in Madrid in 2010 (Laursen, 2012). However, it is true that Van Rompuy had gained a more influential status during his office as compared to Ashton who was often criticized as being new and unfit for her position despite her efforts. Van Rompuy has also been very tactful in handling slippy situations and other conflicts, and has shown great ability in addressing the issues. In the selection of the new EU leadership, there are many stakeholders that are involved most importantly the member states, the EU Parliament, six monthly Presidencies, President of the Commision, the High Representative, and so on. There are many actors involved in determining of a strong leadership for the European Union and the successful work flow of the leadership. Coherence between the various players is critically important and it helps in forwarding the interests of all the member states. When Van Rompuy took his office, it was being anticipated that his Presidency will help connect the various players through greater cohesion. This helps in policy making and institutional development the effect of which trickles down to the objectives of the EU surrounding economic governance, financial stability, strategic foreign relations, and so on. In the special meeting held in Brussels on 30th August 2014, the appointment of new a new President for the European Council (Donald Tusk) and High Representative (Federica Mogherini) took place (European Council, 2014). Subjects such as current political happenings and the position of global economic performance in the financial stage were key subjects in the meeting. Much of the political discussions related to the current political crisis in Gaza, Ukraine, and Iraq. Political consideration and external relations has always been at the center place of EU policy making as well as the leadership as it influences the European Union’s tactical position in its strategies. In appointment for a Commision for the European Council, the votes by the European Council is vital due to its weight and influence in determination of the commission members. Again, external relations and economic issues were at the heart of the discussions. The European Council remained a dominant player in the unanimous agreement over a list of individuals who will be proposed for appointment into the Commission. The process is quite democratic and the criteria are commonly agreed upon. The special meeting emphasized the need to deal with external threats in the political environment and also pointed out the European Union’s stand on these issues such as that of Ukraine, Gaza, and the Islamic Caliphate issue in Syria and Iraq. The terrorism threats were especially discussed and the political situation in the region was highlighted. The intensity of the issue was analyzed and it was assessed that the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate across Syria and Iraq could promote terrorism with its effects possibly reaching Europe. Hence, the threat from terrorism and the political situation in Iraq and Syria was considered as critical in forming EU’s stand regarding the issue. The issues discusses were in turn important for shaping the strategies to be employed by the current EU Leadership. The new leadership under Donald Tusk seems promising in acting out in the best interests of the European Union. The leadership is focused towards its objectives that relate to economic performance as well as political stability. At this stage, it may be early to predict the effectiveness of the new leadership however it can be anticipated that the a similar tradition regarding the EU’s treatment of the issues may continue. It also aims to maintain its previous stance on the issue of Gaza which calls for a ceasefire to be reached under the Egyptian government. Hence, the leadership will play a vital role in the EU’s stand on world issues as well as other concerns such as economic performance. References BBC News. (2014). Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty. Retrieved 3 December 2014, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6901353.stm Conclusions of the special meeting of the European Council. (2014) (1st ed.). Brussels. Retrieved from http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/144538.pdf Laursen, F. (2012). The EUs Lisbon Treaty. Farnham, England: Ashgate. Piris, J. (2010). The Lisbon Treaty. Cambridge [U.K.]: Cambridge University Press. Treaty of Lisbon. (2007). Official Journal Of The European Union, 50. Retrieved from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:C:2007:306:FULL&from=EN Read More