From equilibrated dualism to asymmetric polycentrism: past and present of the presidential system of the EU

Abstract

This article analyses the evolving nature, structure and organization of the government of the EU. In particular, it examines the institutionalisation and characteristics of its triumvirate presidential System (Commission, Council and European Council). It explores the original institutional design of the European presidency, traces its development until the Treaty of Lisbon and sheds light on its multimodal and fragmented contemporary functioning. The main idea is that the polycentric configuration of the EU presidential model contributes to revisiting the distribution of powers and, in particular, the system of member state representation within the EU polity. More concretely, the article argues that the reform of the presidency makes the distribution of roles and separation of powers more flexible than ever before by elevating inter-institutional imbrication to the level of principle of government of the EU. Beyond the questions of operability, efficiency and interinstitutional rivalries between the different presidencies, the presidency’s conversion into a political hydra raises the question of the direction of the institutional development of the EU as a whole.