The ongoing crisis in the Eurozone has posed particular challenges to the current Polish EU Presidency. Poland, like Sweden, is not a member of the Euro Group and has therefore been excluded from some of the most important decision-making during the second half of 2011.
Moreover, the political influence in the EU rests more with the European Council than with the rotating Council Presidencies. Nevertheless, the Council Presidencies continue to matter.
In this report published in December 2011, Piotr Maciej Kaczyński, a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies, analyses the Polish Presidency and discusses its strategies and achievements.
He paints the picture of a successful presidency albeit with strictly limited political powers, raising the question whether a non-euro country can in fact be part of the EU’s inner circle.
To access the report, click on the following link: 2011_3op.pdf
31 Dec.: Polish presidency ends.
1 Jan. 2012: Danish presidency begins.
1 Jul. 2012: Cypriot presidency begins.
1 Jan. 2013: Irish presidency begins.
1 Jul. 2013: Lithuania presidency begins.
1 Jan 2014: Greek presidency begins.
Links:
The publication is part of the research project The EU Presidencies.
Swedish Institute for European policy Studies (Sieps): click here.
EurActiv article about the report by Piotr Maciej Kaczynski: click here.