The Belgian EU Presidency Setting Europe Back into Action and Laying the Future Institutional Groundwork

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Belgium took over the Presidency of the EU on 1 July 2010 from Spain and began it in the midst of a national political crisis. The Presidency comes in a context of European economic, financial and social crises and at the end of a transitional period for the implementation of the new Lisbon Treaty. In this difficult context, will Belgium be able to confront the double challenge of managing the EU Presidency in this crucial period while at the same time overhauling its own national constitutional foundations?

| 21/09/2010

| Sami Andoura |

| Law and institutions

This contribution was published in English as ARI – Analysis of the Real Instituto Elcano in August 2010. This document is available on Elcano website: http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org.

Belgium took over the Presidency of the EU on 1 July 2010 from Spain and began it in the midst of a national political crisis. Following the examples of the Danish (1993), Italian (1996) and Czech (2009) Presidencies, it is Belgium’s turn to preside over the Union with a government in resignation. The Presidency comes in a context of European economic, financial and social crises and at the end of a transitional period for the implementation of the new Lisbon Treaty. In this difficult context, will Belgium be able to confront the double challenge of managing the EU Presidency in this crucial period while at the same time overhauling its own national constitutional foundations?