Leadership in the European Council: an assessment of Herman Van Rompuy’s presidency

Abstract

In November 2009, the European Council elected Herman Van Rompuy its first standing President, under the terms of the newly-implemented Lisbon Treaty. Using the analytical framework developed by Ingeborg Tömmel to assess the performance of three Commission presidents, this contribution examines Van Rompuy’s leadership in the European Council during two terms in office (2009–2014). First incumbents are generally influential in shaping the positions they occupy. Van Rompuy’s personal qualities helped him meet the demands of an inherently difficult job in an extremely challenging situational context. Yet, institutionally, the presidency of the European Council is a weak office. It brings prominence and close proximity to power, but not the potential of power itself. Nevertheless, Van Rompuy was an effective President because he understood the formal and informal rules of the game, making a modest contribution to leadership in the European Council during a severe financial and political crisis.

Keywords:

• European Council
• Van Rompuy
• leadership
• presidency
• crisis

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Prof. Amy Verdun and Prof. Ingeborg Tömmel for inviting me to participate in their research project and workshop on political leadership in the EU, which received generous funding from the European Commission (Erasmus+ programme – Jean Monnet ‘Policy debate with academic world;’ grant number 565351-EPP-1-2015-1-CA-EPPJMO-PROJECT), and from which this contribution emerged.