INSTITUTIONAL REFORM OF THE EU COUNCIL PRESIDENCY IN TIMES OF CRISIS - PROSPECTS BROUGHT ON BY THE CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPE

The focus of this research is on the role of the EU Council Presidency - beginning with the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community and continuing with its subsequent evolution and changes, brought on in particular by the Lisbon Treaty, all the way to the possible developments that the Conference on the Future of Europe may bring to bear. The purpose of this paper is to examine how various large-scale crises (Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing military aggression by Russia against Ukraine) might have affected the process of treaty reform after the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, including those related to the structure and functioning of EU institutions, with a special focus on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In this endeavour, the paper relies on document analysis from official sources of those member states that held EU Council presidencies and on official documents issued by the other EU institutions.