The Lithuanian Presidency Of The Council Of The European Union Advancing Energy Policy And Eastern Partnership Goals: Conditions For Exerting Influenc
The Lithuanian Presidency Of The Council Of The European Union Advancing Energy Policy And Eastern Partnership Goals: Conditions For Exerting Influenc

Summary/Abstract: This article assesses Lithuania’s potential to exercise added influence in EU decisionmaking during its upcoming EU Council Presidency in two priority areas: the energy policy and relations between members of the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries. This article presents a comprehensive empirical ex ante analysis of the potential influence of the Presidency, based on official documents, academic literature, and interviews with officials from Lithuania and other EU member states. We first reflect on the roles and functions of the Presidency, how these roles changed with the Lisbon Treaty, and how the incumbent can take advantage of its position to increase its influence. We then discuss the different national, issue- and context-related conditions for influence, and how they apply to Lithuania’s upcoming Presidency. We conclude that Lithuania fulfils most national conditions for influence, but that energy and Eastern Partnership policies present specific constraints for individual Presidencies to exert influence, and that the policy context is not favourable for advancing ambitious goals in these areas.

• Details
• Contents