• Posted 03-Jan-2022

The presidency of the Council of the EU

The presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states every 6 months. During this 6-month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council, helping to ensure the continuity of the EU's work in the Council.

Member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called 'trios'. This system was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. The trio sets long-term goals and prepares a common agenda determining the topics and major issues that will be addressed by the Council over an 18-month period. On the basis of this programme, each of the three countries prepares its own more detailed 6-month programme.

The current trio is made up of the presidencies of the France, Czechia and Sweden.

French presidency of the Council of the EU: 1 January - 30 June 2022

The priorities of France's presidency are reflected in its motto: 'Recovery, strength and a sense of belonging':

• recovery, to enable Europe to support the ecological and digital transitions
• strength, to defend and promote our values and interests
• a sense of belonging, to build and develop a shared European vision through culture, our values and our common history

According to the speech given on 9 December 2021 by French President Emmanuel Macron to present the priorities of the French presidency, the activities of the presidency will focus on three main areas: 

• pursuing an agenda for European sovereignty, meaning Europe’s ability to exist in the world as it currently exists and defend its values and interests
• building a new European growth model
• creating a more ’human-sized’ Europe

Source: European Council of the European Union (https://bit.ly/3FUuNHi)