Presidency of the Council of the European Union
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| Image:Slovenian European Union presidency 2008.svg Presidency insignia | |
| Holder: | Slovenia (Ljubljana) |
|---|---|
| Term: | January-June 2008 |
| Leader: | Janez Janša |
Presidency of the Council of the European Union is a responsibility over the functioning of the Council of the European Union which is rotated between European Union member states every six months. There is no single president but rather the task is undertaken by an entire national government, which hence allows that state to influence the direction of European Union policy for their term. Although it rotates every six months, as of 2007 every three presidencies have been co-operating on a common political programme.
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[edit] Functioning
The Presidency, which is sometimes informally called the EU Presidency, has as its primary responsibility to organize and chair all meetings of the Council. However, working out compromises capable of resolving difficulties is in practice also a primary responsibility. The post as President of the Council of the European Union is for each separate meeting held by the responsible government minister of the member state holding the Presidency.
[edit] Triple presidencies
The presidency in some regards is now being executed in a shared manner. In order to cope with the rather short six month term of the presidency. Three successive presidents forming a "triple-shared presidency" work together over a 1.5 year period to accomplish a common agenda. By the current president simply continuing the work of the previous "lead-president" after the end of his/her term. However it should be noted that the legal structure has not officially been modified, rather it is a de-facto method of operation. This process also allows new member states to hold the presidency sooner, and at the same time the triplets are arranged so that, in each of them, there are both new and old member states - with the assumption that the old member states will pass their experience to the co-presidency new-members.
[edit] European Council
Separate from the Council of the European Union there is also the European Council, which meets at European summits at about four times per year. The task as President of the European Council, is similarly performed by the head of government or head of state of the member state holding the Presidency. The President is primarily responsible for preparing and chairing Council meetings, and has no executive powers. As of 2009, under the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Council would no longer use the Presidency system of the Council, rather it would have a full time President who would not hold any national office.
[edit] List of rotations
[edit] 1958 to 2006
The Council of the European Union is presided over for a period of six months by each member state of the European Union in turn, in accordance with a pre-established rota unless the Council makes a new decision.
1 Germany was due to succeed Austria in 2006 but stepped aside as general elections were scheduled for that period. Finland, as next in line, took their place. In the event, the German elections took place in 2005 due to a loss of confidence vote, but the re-arrangement remains.
[edit] 2007 onwards
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Presidency of the Council of the European Union
- Logos of the Council Presidencies
- Presidency order of Rotation List to 2020
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