Szara eminencja Konferencji Międzyrządowych
The ‘Éminence Grise’ of the Intergovernmental Conferences

The Role of the General Secretariat of the Council in Negotiating EU Treaties

Summary/Abstract: The article argues that, contrary to the common view, the General Secretariat of the Council has a visible impact on the outcomes of the Intergovernmental Conferences negotiations. The empirical analysis showed that during the IGC 1996–1997 and IGC 2000 the Secretariat was not only able to autonomously propose compromises on important issues, but also managed to push through its own proposals, introducing them into the final version of the Treaties. The triangulation of qualitative andquantitative research also identified a number of conditions, which more or less affect the position of the Secretariat during the IGC. The first factor is the attitude of the Council Presidency. If the Chair of the Conference supports or opposes the activities of the Secretariat in certain area, the impact of this body increases evidently. The second factor influencing the position of the Secretariat is the nature of negotiated issue. The impact of this body is the greatest in the case of technical and a political issues, while the Secretariat is less influential in regard to matters of medium and high political importance.

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