Comments on: How the idea of One President emerged in the Convention http://www.whodoicall.eu/2008/03/how-the-idea-of-one-president-emerged-in-the-convention/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:01:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Thomas L. http://www.whodoicall.eu/2008/03/how-the-idea-of-one-president-emerged-in-the-convention/comment-page-1/#comment-18 Thomas L. Mon, 03 Mar 2008 23:24:21 +0000 http://www.whodoicall.eu/2008/03/03/how-the-idea-of-one-president-emerged-in-the-convention/#comment-18 I thought the idea was actually coming from the Brits, ahead of the Convention. See the FT 21 January 2002 “UK wants EU ‘super council’: Radical plan would recognise the importance of Europe’s big three powers,” Apparently Blair wanted the creation of the post of “permanent secretary general to chair Council meetings” which would have ended the rotation of the presidencies. Where things got out of control was that the plan also proposed the creation of a ‘super Council’ composed of the Big Three, taking decisions without the other Member States... Belgium and Ireland loved the idea. Anyway, no wonders why Blair wants the job: he taillored it for himself. I thought the idea was actually coming from the Brits, ahead of the Convention. See the FT 21 January 2002 “UK wants EU ‘super council’: Radical plan would recognise the importance of Europe’s big three powers,” Apparently Blair wanted the creation of the post of “permanent secretary general to chair Council meetings” which would have ended the rotation of the presidencies. Where things got out of control was that the plan also proposed the creation of a ‘super Council’ composed of the Big Three, taking decisions without the other Member States… Belgium and Ireland loved the idea. Anyway, no wonders why Blair wants the job: he taillored it for himself.

]]> By: Jasna Pajnkihar http://www.whodoicall.eu/2008/03/how-the-idea-of-one-president-emerged-in-the-convention/comment-page-1/#comment-16 Jasna Pajnkihar Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:21:00 +0000 http://www.whodoicall.eu/2008/03/03/how-the-idea-of-one-president-emerged-in-the-convention/#comment-16 Another interesting piece from the l'armoire de l'histoire or the birth of the idea - the idea and/or its tabling was a joint venture of Chirac and Blair in the first days of the Convention. After Aznar stepped in to support their genious, the idea soon became known as the "ABC Proposal" (Aznar-Blair-Chirac). Berlusconi and Schröder were the next ones on board, and of course the European Council's founding father Giscard, who soon became the leading crusader for the establishment of this new institutional figure, as he saw in it a kind of reincarnation of his old idea - and of course a tailor-made position for himself as the first incumbent to be inaugurated to the throne... Another interesting piece from the l’armoire de l’histoire or the birth of the idea – the idea and/or its tabling was a joint venture of Chirac and Blair in the first days of the Convention. After Aznar stepped in to support their genious, the idea soon became known as the “ABC Proposal” (Aznar-Blair-Chirac).

Berlusconi and Schröder were the next ones on board, and of course the European Council’s founding father Giscard, who soon became the leading crusader for the establishment of this new institutional figure, as he saw in it a kind of reincarnation of his old idea – and of course a tailor-made position for himself as the first incumbent to be inaugurated to the throne…

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