I Europas hjärta; Det brittiska ordförandeskapet under förhandlingarna om EU:s långtidsbudget 2007-2013

Nedanstående innehåll är skapat av Mimers Brunns besökare. Kommentera arbete

This thesis analyses the 2005 UK presidency of the Council, and more particularly the negotiations on the future financing of the European Union. The purpose of the study is to discuss whether the holding of the presidency implies political influence for the member state. To analyse the power of the country holding the chair the thesis focuses on the presidency functions of brokering and leadership. The theory suggests that the influence of the presidency is derived from informational and procedural power resources, as well as some leadership resources, such as coercion and reward. A case study was used to analyse whether these power resources were used by the British presidency. The conclusions supports that the UK presidency used such power resources, for instance when the negotiations on the budget were delayed. Although the British government gained some influence from their position as president, this influence was restricted for at least two reasons. Firstly, the strong national interest on the matter was an obstruction for the presidency to act as an honest broker. Seco...