Only Symbolic Summits? Analysing the Impact of the European Council on the Legislative Output of the EU

The European Council (EUCO) is a key institution for the development of European integration. Yet, despite the increased scholarly attention towards the EUCO, little is known on its impact on the legislative process. According to its formal Treaty mandate the EUCO does not exercise legislative functions; leaving the legislative process in the remits of the Council, the EP and the Commission. However, I argue that the EUCO´s superior position in the EU´s hierarchy enables the institution to influence the legislative process in the Council and the EP. In particular, it is asked whether the holding of EUCO summits affects the legislative output of the EU. I expect that the EUCO influences the legislative behavior of the Council and the EP by setting deadlines for the adoption of legislative proposals that the co-legislators meet. Thus, the number of legislative acts that are adopted shortly before and after EUCO summits are expected to increase. The hypothesis is tested by estimating count models using the EUPOL dataset that contains information on all legislative acts from 1975-2014 (Häge 2014). Covering several policy areas and a large period of time, evidence is presented for the EUCO´s impact on the legislative output of the EU. The paper thereby contributes to our knowledge on the EUCO´s role in the Union´s system of governance and inter-institutional research.