The President of the European Council after Lisbon: his role in the European Union's decision-making

In the last few years, we observed the introduction of a political and institutional innovation in European integration. The European Council, which brings together the Heads of State and Government of the 28 Member States of the European Union, has been institutionalized under a permanent presidency. For this function, Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, former Prime Minister of Belgium, was initially elected for a period of two years and a half, a mandate that was renewed once. The current president is the former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who was re-elected for a second term from 1 June 2017 to 30 November 2019. In the initial phases of the European Council, divided between the concern of the control of a single personality and the ambition of performing European leadership, Member States decided upon a system of equal rotation. The arrangement seemed ideal. However, subsequent developments and enlargements have clearly shown its limits, ambitions which definitely called for a new and more suitable leadership. Questions regarding the European leadership and the visibility of the European Union have always been the subject of discussion. Who is leading the Union? Who is representing the Union? These were among the most debated issues. All these questions lead us to present and analyze the object of study of my thesis: Given that this function was not clearly defined by the Treaty of Lisbon, which type of leadership have Mr. Van Rompuy and Mr. Tusk ascertained inside this institution? With the arrival of Mr. Tusk at the head of the European Council is it possible to observe a development regarding the functions of this figure? To answer these questions, this thesis will be divided into three main sections. The first part is of a historical and theoretical nature and focuses on analyzing the arguments and controversies which led to the establishment of the permanent Presidency. The second section is more analytical in nature. We will first present the arguments and the controversies behind the appointment of Mr. Van Rompuy. We will then underline the institutional and relational challenges that the President had to deal with at the dawn of his first mandate. Finally, we will attempt to analyze the major events that was confronted with during his first mandate and we will also consider the kind of relationship he maintained with the European actors. The third section will contain an assessment of the presidency of Donald Tusk. We will consider the way in which Mr. Tusk tackled the major issues present on the agenda of the European Council. This will allow us to compare these two presidencies.