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January 2008 - Council of the European Union: The Slovenian Presidency

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The Presidency is held by each Member State in turn for a period of six months. During this time, the Presidency speaks on behalf of all Member States. The European Union Council has three tasks:

* Organizing and chairing all meetings of the European Council, the Council of the European Union and its preparatory committees and working groups.
* Representing the Council in its dealings with other EU institutions and bodies, such as the European Commission and the European Parliament.
* Representing the European Union in international organizations and in relations with countries outside the European Union.

In the first half of 2008, Slovenia holds the Presidency for the first time, as the first of the twelve “new” member states that joined the EU in the 2004 and 2007 enlargements to do so.

Slovenia’s Presidency follows its Trio partners Germany and Portugal. The next Trio consists of France, Czech Republic and Sweden.

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