Italy takes the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, where governments are represented in the EU decision-making, over from Greece on 1 July. The European Parliament always works closely together with the presiding member state to ensure that the EU’s legislative programme functions smoothly. Read on to find out how it works.
The presidency of the Council of the EU, where ministers sit, rotates between the 28 member states every six months. The presiding country chairs Council meetings, brokers agreements between member states and negotiates with other EU institutions, including Parliament and the Commission, on behalf of all Council members. Find out the order of rotation here.
Discussions in Parliament
When a member state takes over the presidency, its representatives come to the Parliament plenary to announce their government’s priorities for the six-month period . On 2 July, it will be Italy’s prime minister Matteo Renzi who will discuss in the EP plenary what he sees as the most important issues the EU should deal with in the next six months. Italian ministers will later discuss these priorities in detail in EP committee meetings.
As part of another tradition, the outgoing Greek presidency will on the same day debate with MEPs the results of its work at the helm of the Council.
The presiding member state is present throughout the term at all plenary debates and committee meetings to represent the views of EU governments [read more]
source: europarl.europa.eu
