The Hungarian Europe Society in co-operation with CEU Center for EU Enlargement Studies (CENS) and with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, Polish Embassy in Budapest and Euractiv organized a two-day workshop on October 29-30 at CEU about the first Hungarian EU presidency.

As István Hegedűs, chairman of the Hungarian Europe Society in his welcoming speech pointed out, this was one of the first events addressing the upcoming Hungarian Presidency and its challenges with the aim to highlight both the negative and positive experiences of previous Presidencies through case studies.

First session: Three Presidencies and the Trio under the Lisbon Treaty

Carme Colomina, Research Fellow at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, expressed her skepticism about the new role of the rotating Presidency. The Lisbon Treaty took the visibility, political status of the rotating Presidency without cutting all the work – it is still the task of the rotating Presidency to organize meetings and lead negotiations. However it is not the agenda–setter, it has only a supporting role (in the „backseat of the car“). Therefore, it should be reviewed whether the rotating Presidency makes sense under the new institutional setup and whether this low role of the rotating Presidency will be also accepted by big Member States. Spanish Presidency was held in the transitional period, when the new instruments of the Lisbon Treaty were already in force but the balance of powers between the institutions was low. The new European Commission has not yet been established and the economic crisis also overshadowed the agenda of the Spanish Presidency.

Steven van Hecke, Senior Fellow at the Research Group European and International Politics said that the three new institutions introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon (Permanent President, High Representative and Trio Presidency) showed that the EU wanted more continuity. In the new balance of powers, the European Parliament (EP) is the true winner and rotating Presidency the loser, because the Treaty limited the role of the rotating Presidency to the preparation phase, as a service provider/facilitator, honest broker and mediator. Its agenda-setting power has also been limited (this is now done by the European Council). Nevertheless, the rotating Presidency provides an opportunity for the new Member States to explain the EU to domestic audience.

György Urkuti, Head of Communication Department for the EU Presidency at the Hungarian MFA, assured the audience that political leadership is given for the time of the Presidency. The government programme is in line with the European integration interests. Communication must support the work of the Presidency, messages to the public must be clear and simple. The different needs of the international and national media must also be met. The Presidency has a cultural content as well and it provides an opportunity to involve the broad public.

Second session: Presidencies Running the European Union

Anton Bebler, Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana, summarized the main lessons learned from the Slovenian Presidency. It took place without any major crisis, unexpected events and during economic upturn and a period of political stability. The government took the task seriously. He recommended a Brussels – based presence. Only small fraction of events were held in Slovenia, mainly in the new conference center 25 km from the capital, close to the international airport – convenient for handling logistical tasks. The government defined a few government priorities and not ambitious ones, but showed no creativity and no substantial initiative. It took the role of the organizer, not a leader, occasionally a mediator. However, it did not use all the expertise and all its human resources, and filled some positions with unqualified people.

Martina Klicperová-Baker, Senior Research scholar at the Academy of Sciences in Prague, said that the Czechs were characterized with mixed citizen attitudes towards the EU. Nevertheless mixed feelings are something positive as they show that there is a public debate going on in the Czech society about the EU. The results of the Czech Presidency have been influenced by the euroskeptical President Václav Klaus, but creativity as well - Entropa by David Černý. She pointed out three functions of the rotating Presidency – it strengthens responsibility, fosters civic patriotism and is an educational opportunity.

Agnieszka Lada, Head of the European Programme at the Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw, informed the audience about the ongoing preparations for the Polish Presidency. Poland has high expectations and one should not expect a low-profile Presidency. Possible priorities are: new financial framework, Eastern Partnership, internal market, energy, Common Foreign and Security Policy, intellectual capital. Events will take place in several bigger cities, not only in the capital – the Presidency will also be used as country promotion. As a main challenge for the successful Polish Presidency she identified the forthcoming parliamentary elections that were planned for the middle of the Presidency.

Third session: The Social and Political Context of the Presidencies

According to Jari Vilén, Ambassador at the Embassy of Finland to Hungary, Presidency is a once in a lifetime chance, unique branding opportunity for Hungary to improve public image of the country and bring the EU closer to citizens: “we are leading Europe that belongs to all of us”. The role of the Prime Minister is being a problem-solver. He recommended rather overbudgeting and clearly stating a few national priorities. Division of labour between Brussels and the capital must also be clearly set. Transparency is important – easy access by media to information, having good web pages and being available all the while. Training for Ministers, language courses, learning the rules of procedures could also be useful. He recommended recognizing the importance of European Parliament as a co-legislator and ensuring internal communication.

 Uwe Puetter, Professor at the Department of Public Policy at the CEU, pointed out that economic governance in the EU27 was a broad term and includes all the business that takes place around the EMU. Economic governance is high on the EU agenda, ECOFIN meetings being organized very frequently, because today market pressure is driving politicians and not vice-versa. Constant policy dialogue and decentralization are needed. Not only ECOFIN, but also the Eurogroup and the European Council preside over economic governance.

Fourth session: Beyond the Presidencies - The Future of the European Union

Federigo Argentieri, Director of the Guarini Institute for Public Affairs ath the John Cabot University in Rome named the necessary prerequisites for a successful Presidency: solid and stable domestic situation, consensus on the importance of the Presidency, mutual respect.

Piotr-Maciej Kaczynski, Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels explained the new institutional setup under the Treaty of Lisbon. It brought a new emerging actor – the European Council – quadrangle of institutions. He identified two problematic zones: intergovernmental and supragovernmental, and shortly analysed the potential institutional tensions in the evolving system.

Gábor Iván, Ambassador at the Hungarian MFA, summarized the elements that in his view will affect the next decade:

• New institutional setup: its real test comes in 2011. The two new positions of the LT make an impression of something federal, but both are strengthening intergovernmental cooperation.
• New economic policy coordination: task is to establish a robust instrument for crisis management. Major economic plans to be presented by Member States to the European Commission before going to the European Parliament – a test whether the Member States are ready to share souvereignity.
• Europe 2020: to demonstrate structural changes
• Common energy policy: to speak with one voice to suppliers
• New financial framework: what policies do we intend to use?
• Enlargement: finish accession negotiations with Croatia, then deal with the rest of the Western Balkans, come up with a political vision for Turkey
• G20: role of the EU in the structure
• Stockholm Programme: new legislation that affects the everyday life

Closing remarks were made by Péter Balázs, Director of CENS. The ES-BE-HU Trio has been very functional. The rotating Presidency is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Member States. One of the challenges of the HU Presidency will be chairing 10 Council formations by only 8 Hungarian Ministries. It will be important to speak the European language and base formulations on European values.