Germany held the presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 2020.[1][2] The presidency was the first of three presidencies making up a presidency trio, followed by the presidency of Portugal and that of Slovenia.[3]
| German Presidency of the Council of the European Union | |
|---|---|
 | |
 1 July – 31 December 2020 | |
| Council of the European Union | |
| Website | https://www.eu2020.de |
| Presidency trio | |
|
| |
The German presidency occurred during the coronavirus pandemic.[1][4] It came near the end of longtime German chancellor Angela Merkel's time in office; Merkel had also held the chancellorship during Germany's previous presidency of the council, in 2007.[5]
Overview edit
The pandemic shifted the goals of the presidency, and Merkel opened the term with a desire to establish a coronavirus fund to weather the economic impact of the pandemic.[5][6] Initially agreed to in July, the Next Generation EU fund, consisting of 750 billion EUR in grants and loans, was held up when Poland and Hungary vetoed the European Union's proposed seven-year budget, as they both opposed how the distribution of funds was conditional upon respecting the rule of law.[2][7][8][9][10] The budget was eventually passed in December, after the other member states agreed to delay the implementation of the rule-of-law mechanism.[2][11]
At the end of the term, Politico Europe gave the German presidency a grade of B+, praising how the presidency addressed health care, but finding it lacking in the areas of transport and migration.[4] Deutsche Welle's review of the presidency was also mixed, highlighting the response to the pandemic and progress on environmental issues, but noting that some goals that had originally been set by the presidency had been left untackled.[2]
Gallery edit
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![German chancellor Angela Merkel (left foreground), Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki (center-left foreground), European Council president[a] Charles Michel (center-right foreground), and French president Emmanuel Macron (right foreground), amidst a discussion in Brussels during a European Union summit, 10 December 2020](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Mateusz_Morawiecki_bierze_udzia%C5%82_w_szczycie_Rady_Europejskiej_w_Brukseli_%282020.12.11%29_7.jpg/270px-Mateusz_Morawiecki_bierze_udzia%C5%82_w_szczycie_Rady_Europejskiej_w_Brukseli_%282020.12.11%29_7.jpg)
German chancellor Angela Merkel (left foreground), Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki (center-left foreground), European Council president[a] Charles Michel (center-right foreground), and French president Emmanuel Macron (right foreground), amidst a discussion in Brussels during a European Union summit, 10 December 2020 -
The Federal Chancellery in Berlin during the presidency, with a flag featuring the logo of the council presidency flying in front of the building, next to a flag of Germany and one of Europe
![German chancellor Angela Merkel (left foreground), Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki (center-left foreground), European Council president[a] Charles Michel (center-right foreground), and French president Emmanuel Macron (right foreground), amidst a discussion in Brussels during a European Union summit, 10 December 2020](/wiki/File:Mateusz_Morawiecki_bierze_udzia%C5%82_w_szczycie_Rady_Europejskiej_w_Brukseli_(2020.12.11)_7.jpg)
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ The presidency of the European Council should not be confused with the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
References edit
- ^ a b "List of presidencies of the Council of the European Union - Consilium". archive.ph. 9 July 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b c d Riegert, Bernd (9 July 2023). "EU presidency: Germany gets mixed scorecard – DW – 12/30/2020". archive.ph. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "EU trio holds consultations as end of Slovenia's stint nears". archive.ph. 9 July 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b Burchard, Hans von der (9 July 2023). "Merkel's report card: Grading Germany's EU presidency – POLITICO". archive.ph. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b "Germany assumes EU presidency as Merkel pushes for massive bloc-wide …". archive.ph. 9 July 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "German 'corona presidency' plan pivots to crisis management – POLITICO". archive.ph. 7 May 2020. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "EU faces crisis as Hungary and Poland veto seven-year budget". archive.ph. 4 December 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Ozsvath, Stephan (10 July 2023). "Hungary's budget veto leaves Orban isolated". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Poland, Hungary face calls to drop EU budget veto – DW – 12/08/2020". archive.ph. 10 July 2023. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "After Poland & Hungary veto budget, EU considers Plan B and Poland si…". archive.ph. 10 July 2023. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "EU breaks deadlock on virus recovery fund – DW – 12/10/2020". archive.ph. 10 July 2023. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)