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How the Presidency works
On 1 July, Sweden took over the Presidency of the EU. The country holding the Presidency leads the Council of the European Union and acts as the driving force behind the EU’s legislative and political work.
An important task for the country holding the Presidency is to broker compromises between the Member States. It is also the country holding the Presidency which leads the meetings of the European Council, the EU summits where the EU heads of state or government meet.
The EU Member States take it in turns to preside over the Council. The Presidency rotates every six months. The Member States have together decided on the order in which they will hold the Presidency.
Together with the two previous presidencies - the French Presidency in the second half of 2008 and the Czech Presidency in the first half of 2009 - Sweden forms part of a “three-Presidency team”.
The most important task for the three-Presidency team is to work out a common 18-month programme for all three presidencies.
Presidency order of rotation
The rota of countries holding the EU Presidency until 2020 is as follows:
| Year | First half of the year | Second half of the year |
| 2009 | Czech Republic | Sweden |
| 2010 | Spain | Belgium |
| 2011 | Hungary | Poland |
| 2012 | Denmark | Cyprus |
| 2013 | Ireland | Lithuania |
| 2014 | Greece | Italy |
| 2015 | Latvia | Luxembourg |
| 2016 | The Netherlands | Slovakia |
| 2017 | Malta | United Kingdom |
| 2018 | Estonia | Bulgaria |
| 2019 | Austria | Romania |
| 2020 | Finland |
Slideshow about the Swedish EU Presidency (in Swedish)
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The Presidency’s tasks comprise leading the work of the Council and representing the Council in relations with other EU institutions, such as the Commission and the European Parliament. The Presidency also represents the EU to other countries and international organisations.
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Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is ultimately responsible for the work of the Swedish Presidency, and Minister for EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström is responsible for the coordination of the preparations for the Presidency. The work of the Presidency is coordinated within the Government Offices by the Prime Minister’s Office.
This website is now functioning as an archive and will not be updated. Previously there was a photo here which has been removed for copyright reasons.
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The cost of preparing and holding the Swedish Presidency is estimated at SEK 971 million. Around half of this amount will go to covering the cost of the more than one hundred meetings that will take place in Sweden. Other expenses include communication, media and cultural activities, skills development and extra staff in the ministries and certain important missions abroad.
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Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 2009. The Swedish Presidency’s vision is a strong and effective Europe where focus is on the common responsibility to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, including preparedness to manage crises.
The biggest and most important challenges are the economy, employment and climate – issues that affect each and every citizen of the EU.
You can find more information about the priority issues in the work programme for the Swedish Presidency.
This website is now functioning as an archive and will not be updated. Previously there was a photo here which has been removed for copyright reasons.
Faisant dorénavant office d’archives, ce site n’est plus remis à jour. Ici se trouvait précédemment placée une photo ayant été retirée pour des raisons de droits d'auteur.
What does it mean to hold the Presidency? Can Sweden pursue its own interests during the Presidency? Which meetings will be held in Sweden? And why does the Presidency cost so much? You can find the answers to these and many more questions in our frequently asked questions section. Here you can also ask the Presidency more questions.
EU Council configurations
On the Council pages, you can find information, news and events.
