Slovenian EU Council Presidency in
2008; Some Lessons for Malta
prof. Marjan Svetličič
Faculty of Social Sciences, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Malta, ERAZMUS
April 25. 2011
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
1
The Economist’s modest
expectations (Dec 18, 2007, p. 40)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To oversee the last chapter of Yugoslavia
break up;
Coordinating Presidency, keeping the seat
warm between 2 giants; Germany and France
SLO is irrelevant, can not convince Putin…
Not to be too creative
But, knowing when bullshitting has started in
the Balkans
marjansvetlicic@siol.net
Svetlič
Ljubljana
Svetličič Marjan,
SVETLIČIČ
MARJAN
22
Objectives
1.
Theory
2.
Priorities and realization
3.
Preparations
4.
Trio
5.
What competences needed for presidency?
6.
Major problems
7.
Lessons learned
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
3
How B. Gates change a light bulb ?
Small states can not do what he can!!
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
4
1. Theory framework
1.
Small countries (SCs) have less
potential to preside (resource
limitations…),
2.
Have less formal and informal
sources of power
3.
But have some advantages
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
5
Advantages of SCs are:
1.
Perception of being weak can enhance their
influence
2.
Honest broker, conflicts avoiding behavior
3.
Too small to have strong national interests
4.
Historical context (Luxemburg…),
5.
Selectivity, specialization,
6.
Use soft sources of influence, …
7.
Alliances…..
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
6
Presiding state gets sources of influence
beyond formal ones (voting…)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Asymmetrical acces to information
Asymmetrical control over negotiating
processes
Confessionals (confidential bilateral
talks)
Supranational entrepreneur role
(Moravcsik 1999)
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
7
And limitations are….
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Less potential for the implementation of
national interests; EU interests in the
forefront
Preoccupied with administrative tasks,
Inherited agenda
Short term in office
Formal power limited by informal rutine
Handling of unplanned events
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
8
H. Macmillan
Events, events are
biggest political
problem my boy
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
9
Role of the presiding state
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
•
Management, coordination and
administration
Agenda setting, shaping, structuring,
exclusion- impulse-giving
Leadership, strategic guidance
Brokerage- mediating
Representation
SLO Brussels based presidency
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
10
2. SLO priorities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Future of Europe-Lisbon treaty
Lisbon strategy implementation
Enlargement-Western Balkans
Climate change, energy security;
relations with Russia
Intercultural dialogue
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
11
Slovenia, a “star pupil among
NMSs” graduated
Contributing to
the erosion of
divisions between
old and new
Members
Became 16th
member??!
marjansvetlicic@siol.net
Svetlič
Ljubljana
Svetličič Marjan,ARJAN
SVETLIČIČ
12
12
Weaknesses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Too discrete, modest,
Not aggressive in media
Not really agenda setter, low energy
Social issues underestimated;
Insecure in areas of strengths
(Kosovo…)
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
13
3. Preparation for the Presidency (1)
Started in 2005; Administrative academy
65 seminars and workshops, individual training
By EIPA Maastricht, Centre for Political and
Diplomatic Studies Oxford, Diplomatic Academy
Vienna, Ethos Challenge Counseil Paris and
CEES
284 training sessions in about 18 months, for
5.853 candidates
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
14
Preparation for the Presidency (2)
communication skills: public speaking, including
written communication, oral communication with
media and other publics, managing stress and
other problems in public speaking
leadership skills: team work, preparation for and
chairing of working groups
expert competences: written and oral
communications, fast reading, negotiations,
rhetoric
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
15
Preparation for the Presidency (3)
training for press officers: responsibility towards
information source, crisis communication and
public issues’ governance, reporting to press in
a foreign language
training for translators and interpreters:
translation skills, Slovenian ‘EU vocabulary’,
interpretation in the EU institutions
specific skills: event management, financial
management, protocol
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
16
Organization and costs
1.
2.
3.
Core Working Group for the EU Presidency chaired
by the then Prime Minister
Presidency Programme Sub-group (chaired by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• Human Resources Sub-group (chaired by the
Ministry of Public Administration)
• Public Relations and Promotion Sub-group
(Government Communication Office)
• Presidency Secretariat (chaired by the SecretariatGeneral of the Government of the RS)
• Presidency Budget Sub-group (chaired by the
Ministry of the Finance)
62.3 million euros
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
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4. Empirical assesment of presidency?
About the survey
E-survey, open between 7th July and 4th September
2008; 40 questions
Sent to e-mail group set up by the Sub-group for
human resources (454), PermRep diplomats and
experts (112) and ambassadors (44)
Response: 407, out of that 235 fully answered and 172
where at least one question is missing
Response rate 61%, to all questions 35%
Representative in terms of sectors, functions,
experiences…
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
18
Usefulness of training; correlations
1.
2.
3.
Usefulness; mean 3.89
Lack of applicative knowledge
Strong correlations:
between field training and decision making
Usefulness of procedures training and
decision making system
Foreign languages and personal
competence building
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
19
Training for Presidency was instrumental; 72%
participated (ranked by mean values)
Mean
Very
usefull
Participation at working groups before Presidency
4,18
76%
Meetings with EU institutions and other members
4,13
n.a.
Improving foreign languages
3,89
3,76
n.a.
52%
Personal competences: rhetoric's, chairing
meetings, negotiations, diplomacy
3,75
52%
Procedures and decision making in my field
3,59
55%
Field knowledge
3,17
45%
General knowledge about institutions and their
functioning
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
20
4. Role of Trio; Germany, Portugal, SLO
Not considered highly important
More for preparations
Presiding state is alone when presiding
Cooperation with general secretariat of the Council more
important
Delegating certain tasks on other partners proved good
practice (agriculture to Germany, enlargement Turkey,
environment France…)
Informnal contacts!!!
SLO among two large stones/states; Germany and France
(PR attention)
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
21
How important was trio in selected functions
agree
completely
agree
partly
do not
agree
The trio was crucial for familiarizing the NMSs
with the activities and functions of EU
13,7
56,4
30,0
The close cooperation with the GSC was more
important than with the trio
63,2
30,5
6,3
The trio was useful, but it would be more
appropriate to distribute work according
to different sectors
13,6
45,7
40,7
The trio was not important for the
realization/implementation of the
Presidency
17,0
40,4
42,6
The cooperation among the trio depended on
informal contacts between individuals
38,9
55,8
5,3
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
22
The most problematic aspects of trio functioning
(3 answers were possible to be selected)
Number
%
Cooperation in the realization of trio-Presidency was too weak
128
31,4
Cooperation of the trio was not possible due to different NIs
104
25,6
Cooperation of the trio was limited to the working-level officials
101
24,8
Cooperation of the trio was founded on good relations between
political elites
83
20,4
Bigger and more experienced States in the trio tried to
dominate with their positions
68
16,7
There was no appropriate cooperation between the
Presidencies because of broken personal contacts (following
changes in personnel positions after the Presidency of the
respective trio-partner)
35
8,6
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
23
Do you agree with the following statements about
agenda formation in the Council working parties?
Agenda was determinded:
number Yes %
No %
according to the programme of the Presidency
152
77,6
22,4
according to my own judgement
152
62,5
37,5
as a combination of priorities arising from the programme of
the Presidency and Slovene national priorities
148
58,1
41,9
external events
148
31,8
68,2
by the General Secretariat of the Council
148
23,6
76,4
I did not have a role which included the
possibility to shape agenda
144
16,2
84,0
by the Commission
147
13,6
86,4
by the trio
147
8,2
91,3
Agenda was influenced mostly by the European Parliament
145
2,1
97,9
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
24
Presidency and national interests
There were no specific Slovene interests in my
working area
33%
Slovenia defended/enforced its interests more easily
during the Presidency
25%
Because of the Presidency, we had to give priorities
to interests of the EU
21%
The Presidency had no influence on the difficulty of
defending/enforcing Slovene interests
Slovenia defended/enforced its interests
with more difficulty during the Presidency
14%
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
8%
25
National interests and TRIO
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Presidency facilitate realization of NI more than limit it
Partly because high correspondence of NI with EU
interests (40% and 21% with TRIO)
TRIO was not irrelevant; but not highly relevant either
The most important contribution; facilitate taking over
presidency and assisting in negotiations
The role of GSC more important
Individual cooperation among TRIO diplomats crucial
for its success,
Too weak cooperation and different interests major
problem
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
26
“Defending” national interests
harder if ….(acc. to ranks):
Weak on human resources: advantage given to EU
interest
Hierarchy in institutions
Not enough knowledge in related fields
Internal political disagreements
Not enough knowledge in the field
If not enough inter ministerial cooperation;
advantage given to EU interests
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
27
5. The most important competences were
(ranks by importance)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Soft skills: English, networking, rhetoric, team
work, negotiations
Hard knowledge; Analytical skills, Position
drafting; why; implementation, reluctance to
confess, others are major players
Least important ; French and German language
But experiences and procedures/functioning of
institutions, were the most important “knowledge”
(4,18 compared to mastering issues 3,17)
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
28
You are assessed by the
ability to articulate the
problem not by your
(hard) knowledge
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
29
The importance of informal
contacts (ranks)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Most frequently with other members
representatives
Slovene public servants
General secretariat of Council
Commission
Interest associations and NGOs
EP nearly 4 times less important
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
30
Why low rank of hard knowledge?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The best civil servants selected
Presidency is about the implementation of the
program not so much about designing it
Few confess to not know things
Less important if national positions not needed
(in 33% areas)
Hands on experiences more important (median
4,18 compared to mastering issues 3,17)
At priority areas the role of major actors more
important
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
31
6. Major problems were:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Lack of cadre
Weak intra and inter ministries cooperation
Hierarchy in institutions
Lack of knowledge in the related fields
Interesting; internal political problems were
not a barrier
Lack of hard knowledge 4x less problematic
than lack of cadres
Institutional memory problem; 42% of
respondents will change the jobs;
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
32
Limited Human resources
2.775 participated
315 newly engaged, (245 students)
Assisted by: 34 foreign diplomats and 93
Slovene experts from universities….
Fluctuation before the presidency (fear of
16 hours work day…)
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
33
Problems; interpretation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Presidency bring changes in operation of
diplomacy
Also new views on problems
Problems of vertical coordination in public
administration is accentuated
Training does not provide enough applicative
knowledge; experiences rated higher;
Reverse flow of information from top down
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
34
Selection of cadres for international posts
1.
2.
3.
4.
Home winners-defeated abroad
Inadequate selection reason for failures
Employ untraditional criteria:
• CC competencies (multicultural families,
bilingual families), holistic knowledge
• Articulation competencies, speedy
decisions, non conflict, multi focused
problem solving
What experiences are relevant?
student, diplomat/manager??
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
35
Priorities in terms of future
presidency are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Inter ministries cooperation
Intra ministries cooperation
Improving negotiation and
communication skills
Foreign languages
Enhancing informal contacts
Improving hard knowledge
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
80%
66%
65%
63%
59%
54%
36
7. Lessons learned, education/training
(survey + workshops) #1
More EU knowledge in schools
More interdisciplinary education and training
More cases and interactive form in education
General education on the EU affairs for the entire
administration and working of the institutions
Modernize teaching of foreign languages (combination
with communication skills)
Skills can not be taught over night and need to be
practiced
Holistic education
Tailor-made training for specific positions
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
37
Lessons learned; institutions #2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Enhancing inter and intra ministerial cooperation and informal flow
of information
“the Brussels experience” good for small countries,
Central role of the communication between the PermRep and the
capital
Diplomatic service in the EU MS and in the third countries
More team work
Enhance informal form of info flows
Enhance the importance and application of lobbying
Functional command of either French…
Hierarchy to be based on expertize not position (political
posting???)
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
38
Lessons learned #3
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Related experiences (Security Council, OSCE
Organization for security and cooperation in
Europe) highly relevant
Early preparations are crucial
Be selective; priorities
Cooperate with others on less priority areas
Be ready for events; pre mortem analysis
Prepare on issues and on how to be
presented; soft skills
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
39
Lessons learned; practical matters #4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
One stop event location works well (nearly 150
meetings in Brdo); facilitate coordinating,
managerial. logistic aspects…;
Trio instrumental for small and new members
Assistance by experienced partners
instrumental
PR problems; press tired of EU,
Customization of EU topics for general public,
more visibility
What with people temporary hired for
presidency? Institutional memory?
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
40
Conclusions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Possession of knowledge; yes for hard,
not enough for soft
Hard knowledge is necessary but not
sufficient condition for Presidency
Articulation of knowledge (in English…)
and informal networking are crucial
Katzenstein is wrong; no utilization of
small states advantages of small
administration
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
41
One has to know how to use all the
keys to get better music
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
42
One does not need
a big army to win
the war
I wish you and us
succes in 2017!!!
Svetlič
Svetličič Marjan, Ljubljana
43