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Article 7 TEU on the Agenda of the Council’s Rotating Presidency: Still a “Nuclear Option” or Rather “a Talking Shop”?

par Coman, Ramona ;Thinus, Pauline
Editeur scientifique Coman, Ramona ;Sierens, Vivien Denis
Référence EU Council Presidencies in Times of Crises, Palgrave Macmillan, Ed. 1
Publication Publié, 2024-05-31

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Résumé :

As an agenda-setter and a consensus-builder, the Council Presidency is a major actor of the EU’s decision-making process. This chapter examines the role of the Council Presidency in the Article 7 TEU procedure that the Commission triggered in 2017 against Poland and the European Parliament in 2018 against Hungary. Six years after its activation, the end of the Article 7 TEU procedure is not in sight. The succession of hearings and “state of play” organised by various presidencies since 2018 have transformed the alleged “nuclear option” into a “talking shop”. To understand this paradox, the chapter examines how each Presidency has put the issue of the rule of law in general and Article 7 TEU procedure in particular on the agenda of the Council. First, the chapter shows that all presidencies from 2018 onwards displayed varying degrees of commitment in addressing this concern. Second, institutional self-imposed limitations hindered the work of the Council Presidency and the proper functioning of the procedure, leaving no space for deliberation and persuasion. Third, intergovernmentalism and diplomatic norms fostered the development of national alliances that prevented confrontation or an actual debate, showing by the same token a clear divide between Member States actively engaged in hearings/state of play and others embracing a more passive and reluctant role for various reasons that the chapter illustrates. Lastly, the deliberation style of the Member State representatives set the tone of the discussions in the Council meetings, redirected towards technical and legal aspects rather than political considerations.