Publication

With just a few days gone by since Spain ended its fourth six-month Presidency of the EU, a first assessment yields an ambiguous result. From an institutional standpoint, the terms of the Lisbon Treaty began to be applied smoothly, and in legislative terms the goals of that broad programme were achieved almost completely. The foreign policy chapter, and, in particular, the strictly political realm, however, require a more nuanced assessment. The very high expectations and the highly challenging economic context that emerged after the Greek debt crisis –which hit Spain very harshly– make for an overall result that is far below what would be expected from simply adding up what was achieved in the different areas of the Presidency.