What does the presidency of the Council of the European Union involve?
Every six months, one of the 27 Member States of the European Union occupies the role of president of the Council of the EU. In that period, the Member State chairs the meetings of the Council and contributes towards:
- the continuation of the Council's activities;
- the course of legislative processes;
- the collaboration between the Member States and the other EU institutions.
- The chair thus acts as a fair and neutral mediator (honest broker).
The Council of the European Union
The Council of the EU consists of all the authorised Ministers from the European Member States, hence why it is also called the Council of Ministers. This Council calls upon the relevant Ministers for consultation or to make an important decision. A Secretary of State may sometimes also attend. The representatives from each country work on the following tasks together:
- negotiating and determining EU legislation, in consultation with the European Parliament and based on proposals from the European Commission
- coordinating EU countries' policy
- developing the EU's foreign and secuity policy based on the guidelines from the European Council
- concluding agreements between the EU and other countries and international organisations
- establishing the annual EU budget, along with the European Parliament
Rotating presidency
Every member state assumes the presidency of the EU once every 13.5 years thanks to a rotational system. The Presidency of the Council rotates between EU member states every six months and the member states work in groups of three (called a 'trio'). This trio prepares a general programme together, also known as the 18-month programme. Belgium forms a trio with Spain, whose turn it was first, and Hungary, which will end the presidency trio.
Main tasks of the presidency
Council meetings and working groups
The first main task of the presidency is the organisation, preparation and leadership of the Council of the EU. This forms a single legal entity, but comes together in ten different Council configurations, depending upon the topic. These are meetings of the relevant Ministers from the 27 EU Member States, such as ‘Environment’ or ‘Agriculture and Fisheries’. With that said, the Councils for 'Foreign Affairs', 'Defence' and 'Development Cooperation' are not chaired by the rotating presidency, but instead by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: Josep Borrell.
The meetings of the relevant Ministers are prepared in no fewer than 250 thematic working groups. The presidency also leads those working groups.
Relations with the other EU institutions
The second main task of the presidency involves representing the Council in its relations with other European institutions, in particular with the European Commission and the European Parliament. Here too, the presidency seeks accord as to legislative matters.
The Belgian presidency
Belgium will assume the presidency of the Council of the EU from January 2024. This presidency is important owing to the timing, with the European elections in June 2024 in view. Under the Belgian presidency, more than 530 informal and around 2,000 formal meetings will take place. These include preparatory meetings and informal meetings of national representatives in Council working groups, bringing Member States' Ambassadors together with the EU, and ministerial meetings and summits, up to the level of heads of state and government leaders. At a ministerial and head of state level alone, nearly 150 formal and informal meetings will be organised. Alongside this, events will be organised in a range of Belgian cities too, including Brussels – the capital of the EU.
https://belgian-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/
