Small states and the presidency of the council of the EU : Luxembourg's experience

Abstract

This dissertation looks at Luxembourg's experience as a small state within the European Union. To this end, an analysis is conducted in particular on the country's experience when it was at the helm of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Luxembourg acceded the Presidency of the Council of the European Union twelve times in total, for brevity's sake this analysis is based on four key presidencies: those of 1966, 1985, 2005 and 2015. The 1966 Presidency sees Luxembourg tackle the 'empty chair' crisis and the rejection of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The 1985 Presidency has Luxembourg tackle the preparations of the Single European Act (SEA). The 2005 Luxembourgish Presidency presides in the early days of a Union of 25 and works on the Stability and Growth Pact and the comprehensive mid-term review of the 'Lisbon process'. Additionally, in the 2005 Presidency, Luxembourg also handles the rejection of the draft European Constitutional Treaty from France and the Netherlands. The 2015 Presidency is analysed to see how Luxembourg worked with the new changes that were brought by the Lisbon Treaty. The aim of this dissertation is to find out what strategies Luxembourg used throughout these particular presidencies and how it managed to reap successful results from all of the four.