President of the European Council
The President of the European Council led to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in December 2009, the meetings of the European Council coming together Heads of State and Government of the EU Member States. According to the principle of rotation, the office changed between these every six months. In the press media it was accordingly said that the country, which the respective council chairman served as head of government, now holds the council presidency.
The main task of the chairman of the European Council was to actively find compromises among his colleagues through his own suggestions, which he often explored in “confessional talks” with colleagues who were still too convincing. The six-monthly rotation of the office did not allow continuity in the exercise of this function and regularly fueled speculation about which agenda the country planned for the coming Council Presidency would pursue in each case. The Council presidencies of large member states often received more hopes for groundbreaking compromises and progress in integration than the smaller member states, which overall had less influence in the EU institutions.
With the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, this six-monthly rotating presidency was replaced by the newly created function of the President of the European Council , elected by the heads of government of the EU member states for two and a half years , who is given the opportunity to fully focus on his coordination and mediation function between the To concentrate Member States, as he is not allowed to hold any office at the national level at the same time.
Chairperson
Chairman | From | To | country |
---|---|---|---|
Jean-Luc Dehaene | Nov 1993 | 31st Dec 1993 | Belgium |
Andreas Papandreou | Jan 1, 1994 | 30 Jun 1994 | Greece |
Helmut Kohl | 1 Jul 1994 | 31st Dec 1994 | Germany |
François Mitterrand | Jan 1, 1995 | May 17, 1995 | France |
Jacques Chirac | May 17, 1995 | Jun 30, 1995 | France |
Felipe González | 1 Jul 1995 | 31st Dec 1995 | Spain |
Lamberto Dini | Jan 1, 1996 | May 18, 1996 | Italy |
Romano Prodi | May 18, 1996 | 30 Jun 1996 | Italy |
John Bruton | Jul 1, 1996 | 31st Dec 1996 | Ireland |
Wim Kok | Jan 1, 1997 | Jun 30, 1997 | Netherlands |
Jean-Claude Juncker | Jul 1, 1997 | Dec 31, 1997 | Luxembourg |
Tony Blair | Jan 1, 1998 | 30 Jun 1998 | United Kingdom |
Viktor Klima | 1 Jul 1998 | Dec 31, 1998 | Austria |
Gerhard Schröder | Jan 1, 1999 | Jun 30, 1999 | Germany |
Paavo Lipponen | 1 Jul 1999 | Dec 31, 1999 | Finland |
Antonio Guterres | Jan 1, 2000 | 30 Jun 2000 | Portugal |
Jacques Chirac | Jul 1, 2000 | Dec 31, 2000 | France |
Göran Persson | Jan 1, 2001 | Jun 30, 2001 | Sweden |
Guy Verhofstadt | Jul 1, 2001 | Dec 31, 2001 | Belgium |
José María Aznar | Jan 1, 2002 | Jun 30, 2002 | Spain |
Not so Fogh Rasmussen | Jul 1, 2002 | Dec 31, 2002 | Denmark |
Konstantinos Simitis | Jan 1, 2003 | Jun 30, 2003 | Greece |
Silvio Berlusconi | Jul 1, 2003 | Dec 31, 2003 | Italy |
Bertie Ahern | Jan 1, 2004 | Jun 30, 2004 | Ireland |
Jan Peter Balkenende | Jul 1, 2004 | Dec 31, 2004 | Netherlands |
Jean-Claude Juncker | Jan 1, 2005 | Jun 30, 2005 | Luxembourg |
Tony Blair | Jul 1, 2005 | Dec 31, 2005 | United Kingdom |
Wolfgang bowl | Jan 1, 2006 | Jun 30, 2006 | Austria |
Matti Vanhanen | Jul 1, 2006 | Dec 31, 2006 | Finland |
Angela Merkel | Jan 1, 2007 | Jun 30, 2007 | Germany |
José Sócrates | Jul 1, 2007 | Dec 31, 2007 | Portugal |
Janez Janša | Jan 1, 2008 | Jun 30, 2008 | Slovenia |
Nicolas Sarkozy | Jul 1, 2008 | Dec 31, 2008 | France |
Mirek Topolánek | Jan 1, 2009 | May 8, 2009 | Czech Republic |
Jan Fischer | May 9, 2009 | Jun 30, 2009 | Czech Republic |
Fredrik Reinfeldt | Jul 1, 2009 | Nov 30, 2009 | Sweden |