event
Carnegie Europe

Can Prime Ministers Do Foreign Policy?

Tue. April 28th, 2015
Brussels

In recent decades, prime ministers have emerged as the EU’s central foreign policy actors and the European Council has become the top decisionmaker on EU external affairs. But the council’s approach to foreign policy lacks coherence, continuity, and ambition. Can its president, Donald Tusk, breathe new life into the council and energize Europe’s other foreign policy institutions?

Carnegie Europe visiting scholar Stefan Lehne was joined by Alain Le Roy, secretary-general of the European External Action Service, and Luuk van Middelaar, political commentator and former speechwriter to the European Council president, for a discussion to mark the launch of Lehne’s latest paper, “Are Prime Ministers Taking Over EU Foreign Policy?” Jan Techau, director of Carnegie Europe, moderated.

Stefan Lehne

Stefan Lehne is a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe.

Alain Le Roy

Alain Le Roy is the secretary-general of the European External Action Service.

Luuk van Middelaar

Luuk van Middelaar is a political commentator and former speechwriter to the European Council president.

Jan Techau

Jan Techau is a political commentator and former speechwriter to the European Council president.

Foreign PolicyEurope
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Stefan Lehne

Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe

Lehne is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, where his research focuses on the post–Lisbon Treaty development of the European Union’s foreign policy, with a specific focus on relations between the EU and member states.

Alain Le Roy

Luuk van Middelaar

Jan Techau

Director , Carnegie Europe

Techau was the director of Carnegie Europe, the European center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Techau works on EU integration and foreign policy, transatlantic affairs, and German foreign and security policy.