The Presidency of the Council of the European Union

There are five distinctive functions of the Presidency of the Council. They are: as manager of Council business; as a source of political initiatives; as a package-broker in negotiations; as a point of contact with other Community institutions; and as a representative of the Community in external relations. In the following pages, the first three of these functions will be grouped under the heading "The Presidency of the Council, internally," with two subheadings: General considerations, and; Specific comments respectively. The fourth will be enlarged to allow a discussion of the presidency of the European Council, and the fifth has obviously to deal with the European Political Cooperation (EPC) and the CFSP.