ABSTRACT
A book on the commanding heights of the European Council (EUCO) after the reforms of the Lisbon Treaty inevitably consists of ‘work in progress’. As the other chapters of this book have analysed in detail, the new institutional innovations – such as the new permanent president of the EUCO, the strengthened High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the European External Action Service – are all still in their teething phase, and thus involve related standard problems. Against the background of a fundamental financial, institutional and identity crisis in Europe, the exact potential for co-operation and competition and the functioning of the post-Lisbon institutional arrangements are still unfolding. This chapter, which analyses the role of the Felipe González Reflection Group, is fundamentally different from other contributions in this book. The group has already explored its potential, done its work and delivered its goods. This chapter, therefore, concerns a completed experiment that was an essential part of the original Lisbon Treaty spirit, rather than another post-Lisbon novelty.
