EU: Spain's Presidency Under the Lisbon Treaty

Spain will take over the European Union's rotating six-month presidency Jan. 1, 2010, becoming the first member state to share the union's leadership with the newly-created president of the European Council and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Because the two new posts — created by the Lisbon Treaty — do not have well-defined powers, the Spanish EU presidency will see precedents set for the new arrangement of power at the EU helm.