EN
The organisational and functional structure of EU institutions is based in the fundamental principle of institutional balance. As a result of the reforms made by the Treaty of Lisbon, it shows explicit references to the principle of separation of powers (in both subjective and objective aspects) which has a prominent place in the national constitutional orders of the Member States. The purpose of this article is to identify those provisions of primary law codifying the powers of the European Council, which — when incorporated into the constitutional orders of the Member States — could be attributed to one of the traditional functions of the legislative power, thus proving the inclusion of the youngest EU institution in the realm of the EU legislative authorities, against the explicit negation of its lawmaking function.