The Presidency, i.e. the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is held by the Member States in turn for a period of six months. The Council unanimously determines the order of rotation.
In the first half of 2006, Austria will hold the Presidency for the second time since accession to the EU in 1995. It first held the Presidency in 1998.
Austria will be followed by Finland on 1 July 2006, then Germany and Portugal. Slovenia will take over the Presidency in the first half of 2008 as the first of the new Member States which joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
The Operational Programme of the Council for 2006 was drawn up by the Council Presidencies of the year 2006 - Austria and Finland - on the basis of the Multi-annual Programme covering the years 2004-2006 and sets out the main objectives for this year's work of the Council.
Recent debates have underlined the importance of the Union concentrating on issues which matter to citizens in their everyday lives. The two Presidencies will work closely together in order to ensure that the work of the Council during 2006 contributes to economic and social welfare, protection of the environment, freedom and security of European citizens as well as strengthening the role of the Union within the world.
To find out more information about the Presidency, its work programme and planned activities, visit the Austrian Presidency website : http://www.eu2006.at/en/index.html |
