In the driving seat

A country holding the EU presidency will probably have to sacrifice some national interests to achieve results, writes Martyn Bond

Received wisdom suggests that in the six months that any member state holds the presidency it can do little more than accelerate some dossiers and put the brakes on others. But proud member states – especially the larger ones – always assume that they can do more. They want to lead Europe, not just chair the council. They want to show other member states and the wider world that they and Europe matter.

Every presidency has to leave some spare room in its planning for unexpected crises, a contingency fund of time and energy to cope with unforeseen events. The Irish no is the first such problem for the French presidency. José Manuel Barroso said before the referendum that there was no plan B. France now has to elaborate one. Adjusting to the consequences of the Irish referendum – the delayed entry into force of the Lisbon treaty – is the first major diversion from the presidency’s original plans.

It would be too strong to call the presidency a poisoned chalice, but there is always a price to pay for leading, for being primus inter pares, even if your turn comes about by rotation rather than election. Presidencies are not just for a few short months of glory, a moment in the sun for the fortunate member state. To achieve results they always require the sacrifice of some national interests. To reach agreement around the table – now with 27 – requires the presidency to jump over its national shadow and see issues from a European perspective. It is a rare politician or national civil servant – especially from the larger member states – who can make that leap.

There is very little political or administrative memory in each capital to help them, for presidencies are no longer what they were. In the early days of European integration they came around every three years. As the community and then the union enlarged, the interval became longer. Now it is thirteen-and-a-half years. Few ministers have any hope of being in the chair as president more than once, and most civil servants will have at best only sketchy memories of what happened last time. In any case the EU was much smaller and less complex then. The council secretariat embodies the institutional memory of successive presidencies, but larger states are loath to use its services. They tend to assume that their national interests and administrative resources are the answer to Europe’s prayer.

Like Napoleon’s marshals, some states are luckier than others. Those that are not draw the short straw and have their presidency in the second half of the year. August intervenes to close the commission, council and parliament, and national administrations fall back on a skeleton staff. Fixing the annual budget in the last few months concentrates the best minds and absorbs an inordinate amount of energy that might have been better deployed to achieve more spectacular ends. And parliamentary business is already being strictly timetabled to ensure key legislation is not lost when parliament dissolves for elections next year.

The French presidency’s margin of manoeuvre is steadily being narrowed. On the other hand, the presidency is always a PR opportunity to profile Europe and the government at home. President Sarkozy and his team will make full use of this opportunity, the first big chance to pull France back into the EU mainstream after the disastrous referendum of 2005. The Irish result has opened old wounds and forced some rethinking here, but in some dramatic ways – specifically in defence – France’s best course may be full speed ahead. La fuite en avant?

But selling a positive engagement with Europe and modernisation at home at the same time is no easy matter. Some months ago Sarkozy commissioned Jacques Attali to propose radical measures to modernise the French economy and French society, but so far his ‘300 ideas’ have received only lukewarm support from government in practice. However radical the country can be on revolutionary occasions, vested interests and old habits die hard. France remains a very conservative country.