CONSILIUL UE ÎN CONTEXT COVID-19, ÎNTRE INOVARE ȘI JOCURI DE PUTERE
EU COUNCIL IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19, BETWEEN INNOVATION AND GAMES OF POWER

Summary/Abstract: In response to the unprecedented situation created by COVID-19, the EU Council, like many of the EU institutions and bodies, has been forced to adapt its work to deal with the extraordinary circumstances. During this resettlement period, the roles of the EU Council Presidency as administrator and broker of the EU agenda proved to be essential for the functioning of the Union in the context of the pandemic. In particular, the presidency of the EU Council played a central role in Coreper, which emerged during the pandemic as a driving force of the European decision-making (it was also the only Council format that met physically throughout the crisis). The Council’s procedural innovations adopted during the pandemic have raised the concern of some EU countries (which consider that a precedent was thus created, showing that in a crisis situation the power lies “in the hands of Brussels” and not in the capitals) and even of the European Ombudsman.

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