The Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union: A Semester of Contrasting Outcomes

Italy’s six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union came to an end on 18 December 2014. When it began on 1 July, expectations had been very high. Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, seemed able to give the European Union (EU) the push it needed to come out of its deadlock, opening up new prospects especially in terms of economic policy. After a brief summary of the institutional and political context in which the Italian presidency began, we shall analyze the three main issues that arose during the six-month period on which Renzi’s government placed particular emphasis. The first was the investment plan promoted by the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. Viewed as the first step toward relaxing the austerity measures, it was at the core of the EU’s approach to the economic crisis. The second issue was the launching of Operation Triton, a border security mission that, with the support of the EU’s security agency Frontex, was to replace Operation Mare Nostrum in the fight against immigration from countries to the south of the Mediterranean. The third issue was the appointment of the Italian minister of foreign affairs, Federica Mogherini, as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Expectations were high, but the end results were not at the same level.