The French Presidency: The Half Success of Nice

For many French observers, the Presidency of the EU in the second semester of 2000 was not a success. The main reason for this was the loose compromise reached at the European Council of Nice, December 7-9, 2000, on institutional reform. The logic of petty bargains, which prevailed among the Fifteen in the Intergovernmental Conference did little to allow the French Presidency to find answers satisfactory to everyone on the four institutional leftovers in the perspective of the next enlargement. Nonetheless, poor outcomes on the institutional dossiers should not conceal the sensible progress achieved in other policy sectors during the six months.