A Presidência rotativa do Conselho e a governança multinível europeia: a peça-chave no processo de decisão intergovernamental

In the post-Lisbon constitutional architecture, the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers of the European Union remains a vital part of intergovernmental decision-making. Its leadership activity is mainly behind closed doors to avoid the politicization of legislative processes. This study aims to contextualize the presidency as a crucial part of European integration due to its position between formal and informal processes. Informality gives the presidency time to create consensus and be flexible in its negotiation. Despite large countries’ attempts to reduce the importance of the rotating presidency, small states have resisted this temptation. In this contribution, the rotating presidency is seen from the point of view of European integration theory which is discussed in depth. Some notes follow on what can be expected in terms of the behaviour of the German and Portuguese presidencies in the new 2020-21 team presidency cycle.