The order in which the Member States shall hold the Presidency is predetermined in the decision of the Council. It results from the law provisions concerning the Presidency that is of the Article 203 of the Treaty establishing the European Community:
"The Council shall consist of a representative of each Member State at ministerial level, authorized to commit the government of that Member State.
The office of President shall be held in turn by each Member State in the Council for a term of six months in the order decided by the Council acting unanimously."
The order in which the Presidency is held by the Member States in the Council is laid down in the Council Decision of 1 January 2007 determining the order in which the office of President of the Council shall be held (2007/5/EC, Euratom), where the rotation is regulated until 2020.
Presidency 2004 - 2020
| 2004 | january - june july - december |
Ireland Netherlands |
| 2005 | january - june july - december |
Luxembourg Great Britain |
| 2006 | january - june july - december |
Austria Finland |
| 2007 | january - june july - december |
Germany Portugal |
| 2008 | january - june july - december |
Slovenia France |
| 2009 | january - june july - december |
Czech Republic Sweden |
| 2010 | january - june july - december |
Spain Belgium |
| 2011 | january - june july - december |
Hungary Poland |
| 2012 | january - june july - december |
Denmark Cyprus |
| 2013 | january - june july - december |
Ireland Lithuania |
| 2014 | january - june july - december |
Greece Italy |
| 2015 | january - june july - december |
Latvia Luxembourg |
| 2016 | january- june july - december |
Netherlands Slovakia |
| 2017 | january - june july - december |
Malta Great Britain |
| 2018 | january - june july - december |
Estonia Bulgaria |
| 2019 | january - june july - december |
Austria Romania |
| 2020 | january - june |
Finland |
The order of the Presidency (Trio)
According to the changes in the way the Presidency is held in the Council of the European Union, laid down in the Treaty of Lisbon and the normal practice, cooperation closer than before is provided for among the three Member States holding the Presidency in turn. However, contrary to the widespread associations it is not about the cooperation of the state holding the Presidency together with its predecessor and successor but about strictly determined trio states followed in succession.
The cooperation among the states in the trio pursues a number of key objectives. Most of all it ensures certain political - programming stabilization, including the continuity of the workings of the EU institutions. Apart from that it safeguards against forcing through its own interests by the state currently holding the Presidency, frequently incompatible with the general Community interest. One has to bear in mind the fact that as a consequence of the enlargement, the Presidency must be held by the new, inexperienced states in this regard. The cooperation in the trio allows them to gain support in this serious political project from the old EU Member States and minimizes the risk of the likely failure to fulfill this obligation.