Foreign-policy activities were among the most important and prestigious prerogatives of the rotating EU presidencies in the pre-Lisbon-Treaty era. The treaty ceded them mainly to the high representative and the European External Action Service (EEAS) and led to the marginalisation of the presidency in EU foreign policy.
After Lisbon, some believed the presidency would strive to shape a new code of conduct. Others bet that ambitions of the country at the EU helm would lead to interinstit...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.