In an article published in April 1975 in the Revue du Marché commun, Michel Ayral, a legal expert, considers the development of the tasks assigned to the Presidency of the Council of the European Communities, in particular the task of representing the Community and the Council, as well as the power to manage the Council’s work.

In an article published in January 1984 in the Revue du Marché commun, Jean-Louis Dewost, legal adviser to the French Conseil d’État and Director-General in the Legal Service of the Council of the European Communities, analyses the development in practice of the responsibilities of the Council since the mid-1960s and identifies a discrepancy between these responsibilities and the actual powers attributed to it by the treaties.

Council Decision 95/2/EC, Euratom, ECSC of 1 January 1995 determining the order in which the office of President of the Council shall be held.

Council Decision 2002/105/EC, ECSC, Euratom of 28 January 2002 on the order in which the office of President of the Council shall be held.

List of the Presidents of the Special Council of Ministers of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

Diagram showing the rotating presidencies of the Special Council of Ministers of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), including the names and the offices of the presidents-in-office.

List of the Presidencies of the Council from a historical perspective (EEC Council, EAEC Council, Council of the European Communities and Council of the European Union).

Diagram showing the rotating presidencies of the Council from a historical perspective (EEC and EAEC Councils, Council of the European Communities and Council of the European Union), including the names of the presidents-in-office.

During the Council sessions and those of its preparatory bodies, the delegations change place every six months, on the first day of January and of July, moving one seat to the left in accordance with the order of rotation followed by the presidencies. This interactive diagram shows the order of succession of the presidencies of the Fifteen, from 1 July 1998 to 31 December 2005, following the end of the second ‘round of twelve' and before the start of the ‘round of twenty-five'.

On 10 December 2002, the Danish Presidency reports to the European Council on the various ideas emerging, with a view to enlargement, from discussions between the national delegations on the reform of the rotating Presidency of the Council.

In this inteview, Jacques F. Poos, former Luxembourg Foreign Minister, lists the advantages of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.

In this interview, Jacques F. Poos, former Luxembourg Foreign Minister, explains what the European Union Troika is and comments on its functions.

In this interview, Jacques Santer, former Luxembourg Prime Minister, outlines the role played by the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the advantages of the principle of rotation.

In this interview, Norbert Schwaiger, former Head of the Press Office of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, outlines the role played by the Presidency in the organisation of the work of the institution. In addition, he emphasises the importance of planning which covers more than one Presidency and of the Presidency consulting the Commission and the General Secretariat of the Council.

Seats reserved for the Council Presidency at the meeting of the Council in its General Affairs and External Relations configuration held on 12 July 2004 in Brussels. From left to right: Tom de Bruijn, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands and President-in-Office of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper II); and Bernard Bot, Netherlands Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council.

During Council meetings, the Presidency may often count on the mediation efforts made by the Commission in order to secure an agreement between the members of the Council. This photograph, taken at the General Affairs and External Relations Council of 20 March 2006, shows Gregor Worschnagg, Permanent Representative of Austria and President-in-Office of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper II), and Ursula Plassnik, Austrian Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council, talking to Margot Wallström, European Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, outlines the advantages of the new way in which the Council’s activities are planned, based on an 18-month programme devised by three successive Presidencies.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, explains how a small or medium-sized country such as Portugal prepares for a half-yearly Presidency and emphasises the benefits of the experience acquired and the contacts established during this period.

In this interview excerpt, Philippe de Schoutheete, Belgian Permanent Representative to the European Union from 1987 to 1997 and Special Adviser to European Commissioner Michel Barnier from 1999 to 2004, discusses the role of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union and its development following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. He particularly emphasises the contribution of smaller countries such as Belgium in holding the presidency.

In this interview excerpt, Mark Eyskens, Prime Minister of Belgium in 1981 and Minister for External Relations from 1989 to 1992, analyses the introduction of a single President of the European Council under the Treaty of Lisbon and emphasises the difficulties concerning the distribution of powers between this President and the rotating Council Presidency.

Address delivered on 22 December 1978 in Brussels by Nicolas Hommel, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Communities from 1973 to 1980, on the occasion of the end of the German Presidency of the Council. In his address in tribute to Helmut Sigrist, Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany and outgoing President of Coreper, Nicolas Hommel critically analyses the relationship of the Presidency with the General Secretariat in the organisation of the work of the Council.

General view of the seats reserved for the Council Presidency meeting in its Justice and Home Affairs configuration on 29 April 2004 in Luxembourg. During the meeting, the Council President-in-Office and the Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper II) are assisted by the General Secretariat and its Legal Service.

During Council meetings, the Presidency is assisted by the General Secretariat of the Council. This photograph, taken at the General Affairs and External Relations Council of 17 July 2006, shows Eikka Kosonen, Finnish Permanent Representative and President-in-Office of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper II), and Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council, talking to Pierre de Boissieu, Deputy Secretary-General of the Council.

In this interview, André Dubois, former Director of Commercial Policy at the Council of the European Communities, outlines the work of the General Secretariat of the Council in ensuring continuity between the successive Council Presidencies. He also emphasises the need for close cooperation between the General Secretariat and the Commission.