In the second half of 2020, Germany will assume the presidency in the Council of the European Union and will thus guide consultations in the bodies of the Council for six months.

The Council of the European Union is the body where ministers from EU countries discuss and adopt legislative provisions. There is no permanent presidency in the Council of the European Union. Every six months, the presidency changes from one EU Member State to the next according to a predefined order.

From July to December 2020, it will be Germany’s turn to assume the presidency in the Council of the European Union.

During any given six month period, the EU country holding the presidency chairs the meetings of the Council of the European Union. During its time in office, Germany will be responsible, among other things, for progressing EU legislation and ensuring that all requirements for legislative procedures are met.

Presidency Programme

The Federal Government has already started deliberations on potential contents of the German EU Council Presidency’s programme. In this context, a part will be played by both the Strategic Agenda of the European Council and the deliberations on the future work programme of the European Commission. Within the Federal Government, the Foreign Office has the lead responsibility for coordinating all activities.

Germany is planning a decentralized presidency - official events will be held at different places throughout Germany. Preparations for the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure’s events during the German EU Council Presidency have already started.

Trio Presidency

In order to ensure that certain issues can be pursued over a longer period of time, three Member States always cooperate for a period of 18 months during their presidencies. They form the so-called trio presidency. In its trio presidency with Portugal and Slovenia, Germany will be the first to assume the presidency. Portugal will follow after Germany in the first half of 2021 and Slovenia will hold the presidency in the second half of 2021.

For this purpose, there will be a joint trio presidency programme alongside the individual national presidency programmes. This means that key issues and objectives can be addressed and fleshed out over a longer period of time.

The Federal Government wants to work in close cooperation with all EU Member States as well as with its trio partners Portugal and Slovenia.