President of the European Union

The three presidents (November 2011): of the European Parliament (Jerzy Buzek), of the European Commission (José Barroso), and of the European Council (Herman van Rompuy) during a press conference in the Berlaymont.

The official title President of the European Union (or President of Europe) does not exist, but there are a number of presidents of European Union institutions, including:

Alongside these the Council of the European Union (also known as the Council of Ministers or simply "the Council") containing 27 national ministers, one of each nation, rotates its presidency by country. This presidency is held by a country, not a person; meetings are chaired by the minister from the country holding the presidency (depending on the topic, or "configuration"), except for the Foreign Affairs Council (one so-called "configuration" of the Council of the EU), which is usually chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.[1] The Presidency of the Council of the European Union has been held by Belgium since 1 January 2024.

According to protocol, it is the President of the Parliament who comes first, as it is listed first in the treaties.[2] However, on the world stage, the principal representative of the EU is considered to be the President of the European Council,[3] but the President of the European Commission, as head of the executive branch of the European Union, takes part in the G7 and other international summits as well.[1]

  1. ^ a b "EU Presidents – who does what? - European Union – European Commission". European Union. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  2. ^ 9.5. Administrative structure of the European Union: official titles and listing order, European Commission
  3. ^ Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, Article 9 B

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