The now infamous “ehm” uttered by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Ankara, when she realized her male counterparts had left her without a chair, reflects a long-lasting malaise in the institutional arrangements of the EU. This issue – illustrated by the famous quip attributed to US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, “Europe? What’s its phone number?” – should be addressed by the Conference on the Future of Europe, as the absence of clear EU leadership not only weakens the EU on the international scene, but also its comprehension by the citizens.
The creation of the permanent presidency of the EU Council when the Lisbon Treaty came into force in 2009, which was supposed to address this issue, has only deepened the problem. In a paper published at the eve of this century at the time of the European Convention, we feared that a permanent presidency of the EU Council could have two perverse effects. First, by reducing the rotating presidency to a mere symbol, it would undermine the EU dynamics of emulation between member states, and the appropriation of the EU by the European peoples. Second, we feared that the emergence of a divided leadership might lead to tensions, echoing those of French-style cohabitation.
Sadly enough, von der Leyen’s so-called ‘sofagate’ confirmed our fears. It would be a mistake to reduce the incident to a conflict of personalities. The flaws are structural and cannot simply be resolved through protocol niceties. From Africa to China to Turkey, the EU seems dysfunctional, affecting its reputation on the world stage.
