Responsible for the functioning of the Council of the EU and for organising its work.

The Presidency plays a vital part in organising the Council's work. It is the driving force in the Council's legislative and political decision-making process as it organises and chairs all meetings at every level in the Council. It also works out compromises, in particular in the framework of informal trialogues.

Member states each take it in turn to chair the Council for a six-month period under a pre-established rota. Following the UK's decision to leave the EU, and to take into account the accession of Croatia to the EU, the Council, on 26 July 2016, adopted Decision 2016/1316 establishing a revised order in which the member states will hold the Council Presidency until 2030.

The Foreign Affairs Council is the only Council configuration not chaired by the six-monthly presidency. Since the Lisbon Treaty came into force, the Foreign Affairs Council has been chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

For more information, see Practice note, Council of the European Union: Presidency of the Council.