The Council and the Commission are very different bodies (the first intergovernmental, and mainly legislative, the second supranational and mainly executive). I don't think that they should have one head, as the roles are very different. I'm also not happy about the new single Council presidency and hope that the position will not become one of great power. An appointed Council President is appropriate insofar as the body is intergovernmental -- of the Member States.
I'm also not happy about the new single Council presidency and hope that the position will not become one of great power.
An appointed Council President is appropriate insofar as the body is intergovernmental -- of the Member States.
FT.com | Gideon Rachman's Blog | Kissinger never wanted to dial Europe
The Kissinger "who do I call" remark was trotted out at almost every seminar I ever went to Brussels. So I'm delighted to add it to the list of "famous sayings that were never said". Reginald Dale of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington (and before that of The Financial Times) has written to me to say: "Kissinger never made the famous remark about Europe's telephone number. According to the late Peter Rodman, who knew him well, the saying is apocryphal, and in fact Kissinger's concern was the precise opposite - he was fed up with having to deal with a Dane whom he regarded as incompetent and ineffective, who was trying to represent the whole of the EU as President of the Council. Kissinger himself has disowned the remark, and it seems that he was actually seeking to divide and rule in Europe, rather than be restricted to a single voice on the telephone."
The Kissinger "who do I call" remark was trotted out at almost every seminar I ever went to Brussels. So I'm delighted to add it to the list of "famous sayings that were never said".
Reginald Dale of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington (and before that of The Financial Times) has written to me to say: "Kissinger never made the famous remark about Europe's telephone number. According to the late Peter Rodman, who knew him well, the saying is apocryphal, and in fact Kissinger's concern was the precise opposite - he was fed up with having to deal with a Dane whom he regarded as incompetent and ineffective, who was trying to represent the whole of the EU as President of the Council. Kissinger himself has disowned the remark, and it seems that he was actually seeking to divide and rule in Europe, rather than be restricted to a single voice on the telephone."
