- [UNTITLED]
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Abbreviations
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Realist, Intergovernmentalist, and Institutionalist Approaches
- Neo-Functionalism and Supranational Governance
- Constructivist Perspectives
- Sociological Perspectives on European Integration
- Multilevel Governance
- The Treaties of Paris
- The Treaties of Rome
- The Single European Act
- The Treaty of Maastricht
- The Treaty of Amsterdam
- The Treaty of Nice
- The Constitutional and Lisbon Treaties
- The Founding Fathers
- Dynamic Franco–German Duos: Giscard–Schmidt and Mitterrand–Kohl
- Problematic Partners: De Gaulle, Thatcher, and Their Impact
- The Presidents and the Presidency of the European Commission
- Famous Non-Performers: Franco Malfatti, Gaston Thorn, and Jacques Santer
- Large Versus Small States: Anti-Hegemony and The Politics of Shared Leadership
- Old Versus New
- Rich Versus Poor
- Coordinated Versus Liberal Market Economies
- Leaders and Followers: Leadership Amongst Member States in a Differentiated Europe
- Council of Ministers and European Council
- European Commission
- The European Court of Justice and the Legal Dynamics of Integration
- The European Parliament
- External Scrutiny Institutions
- European Union Agencies
- Single Market
- Trade Policy
- Competition Policy
- Economic and Monetary Union
- Lisbon Strategy
- CAP
- Regional and Structural Funds
- Environmental Policy
- European Consumer Law
- Social Policy and Labor Market Regulation
- European Energy Policy
- The Constitutional Context of (Ever–Wider) Policy–Making
- Defense Policy
- The Shadow of Schengen
- Justice and Home Affairs
- Intelligence and the European Union
- The Common Foreign and Security Policy
- Democracy and Legitimacy in the European Union
- Policy Effectiveness and Transparency in European Policy-Making
- Identity and Solidarity
- Political Time in the EU
- Public Opinion and Integration
- Rights (And Obligations) in EU Law
- Bringing the Territory Back in: Toward a New Understanding of the Regional Dimension of the EU
- Neither an International Organization Nor A Nation State: The EU as a Supranational Federation
- Comparative Regional Integration: Theoretical Developments
- Coordination in the EU
- Burden-Sharing
- Europeanization
- Politicization
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
This article focuses on former European Commission presidents Franco Malfatti (1970–1972), Gaston Thorn (1981–1985), and Jacques Santer (1995–1999), who are linked by their disappointing presidential performances. Each lacked the drive and ambition associated with holders of high political office. By the standards of other top-level politicians they were relatively laid-back; more Type B than Type A personalities. As Commission presidents, they lacked an intangible though essential attribute of political success: luck. To some extent, a combination of poor judgment, timidity, and misfortune accounts for their poor record in Brussels.
Keywords: European Commission, presidents, presidential performance, Franco Malfatti, Gaston Thorn, Jacques Santer
Desmond Dinan Professor of Public Policy and ad personam Jean Monnet Professor; Director, International Commerce and Policy Program, School of Public Policy, George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia, United States.
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- [UNTITLED]
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Abbreviations
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- Realist, Intergovernmentalist, and Institutionalist Approaches
- Neo-Functionalism and Supranational Governance
- Constructivist Perspectives
- Sociological Perspectives on European Integration
- Multilevel Governance
- The Treaties of Paris
- The Treaties of Rome
- The Single European Act
- The Treaty of Maastricht
- The Treaty of Amsterdam
- The Treaty of Nice
- The Constitutional and Lisbon Treaties
- The Founding Fathers
- Dynamic Franco–German Duos: Giscard–Schmidt and Mitterrand–Kohl
- Problematic Partners: De Gaulle, Thatcher, and Their Impact
- The Presidents and the Presidency of the European Commission
- Famous Non-Performers: Franco Malfatti, Gaston Thorn, and Jacques Santer
- Large Versus Small States: Anti-Hegemony and The Politics of Shared Leadership
- Old Versus New
- Rich Versus Poor
- Coordinated Versus Liberal Market Economies
- Leaders and Followers: Leadership Amongst Member States in a Differentiated Europe
- Council of Ministers and European Council
- European Commission
- The European Court of Justice and the Legal Dynamics of Integration
- The European Parliament
- External Scrutiny Institutions
- European Union Agencies
- Single Market
- Trade Policy
- Competition Policy
- Economic and Monetary Union
- Lisbon Strategy
- CAP
- Regional and Structural Funds
- Environmental Policy
- European Consumer Law
- Social Policy and Labor Market Regulation
- European Energy Policy
- The Constitutional Context of (Ever–Wider) Policy–Making
- Defense Policy
- The Shadow of Schengen
- Justice and Home Affairs
- Intelligence and the European Union
- The Common Foreign and Security Policy
- Democracy and Legitimacy in the European Union
- Policy Effectiveness and Transparency in European Policy-Making
- Identity and Solidarity
- Political Time in the EU
- Public Opinion and Integration
- Rights (And Obligations) in EU Law
- Bringing the Territory Back in: Toward a New Understanding of the Regional Dimension of the EU
- Neither an International Organization Nor A Nation State: The EU as a Supranational Federation
- Comparative Regional Integration: Theoretical Developments
- Coordination in the EU
- Burden-Sharing
- Europeanization
- Politicization
- Index
