party, although sometimes a compromise figure may be asked to form a
coalition.
Within theEuropean Union (EU) the heads of government of the
member countries gather at summit meetings for general reviews of EU
business, or for specially convened summits for extraordinary and emergency
topics. Until 1974 these meetings were arranged on anad hocbasis, but in that
year the custom was formalized with the establishment of the European
Council. Between 1974 and 1986 the European Council met three times a
year, and from 1986 onwards twice a year. It is to be distinguished from the two
executive institutions of the EU: the Council of Ministers, which consists of
ministerial representatives from the governments of the member states; and the
European Commission, which is regarded as both the supranational and
administrative arm of the executive.
Head of State
The head of state is the person who exercises a number of formal and
ceremonial powers and responsibilities, such as receiving visiting monarchs
and other heads of state, and accepting the accreditation of ambassadors.
Usually the head of state will have some residual, almost referee-like, political
powers—such as the appointment of ahead of governmentor prime
minister. In political systems which retain amonarchyit is the monarch
who is the obvious head of state. In others it is apresident, whose political
powers may vary considerably. In some countries, such as Israel the degree of
real political power is very limited except when, as occurs quite frequently in
Italy for example, coalition formation requires the exercise of discretion in
relation to the selection of a prime minister likely to be able to form a
government capable of commanding the support of theparliament. It is
because of this that Italy, following the French model set by theFifth
Republic, is debating increasing the powers of the president. In some systems
the roles of chief executive—with real political power—and head of state are
merged, and this is obviously the case in the USA. In other political systems,
notably France in the Fifth Republic, there is an ambiguity surrounding the
role of the president, whose powers and responsibilities may vary according to
particular political circumstances and the personality of the incumbent. There
is no tidy pattern to the structure of states and governments, and the roles of
their heads can be very complex. This headship need not even be held by one
person: the Yugoslavian presidency after the death of Tito, for example,
operated as a collective body of eight members with its leadership rotating
among them, while the Israelis experimented, largely unsuccessfully, with
alternating the prime ministership between two party leaders.
Head of State