Vacant Belgian Government takes EU Presidency

The EU is facing an exceptional situation: Belgium will take over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union on 1st July, but Belgium does not have a government. Well, they do. But it is merely a caretaker government until a new executive is in place, which is not expected to happen before September. Will that have an impact on the EU presidency? Probably not.

First of all, the agenda is set. Belgium’s EU presidency programme was prepared over two years and finally adopted last week. It is now just a question of implementing it, which will to a large extent be done by civil servants. Secondly, with Herman Van Rompuy, the Council has a permanent chair who used to be Belgian prime minister until a few months ago. This is expected to facilitate the work of the Belgian Presidency. And last but not least, the EU basically shuts down for 6 weeks over the summer. By the time the EU machinery is back in full swing at the beginning of September, the new Belgian government might well be in place, taking over responsibility just in time to deal with the issues and questions that actually require high-level political leadership. Then again, in Belgian politics you never know what’s going to happen next...

Christian Hierholzer

Managing Director, hanover Brussels

22 June 2010