From 1 January 2022, France will hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union, which brings together the Member States by field of activity and, along with the European Parliament, amends and approves EU legislation. France will hold this position for a period of six months.
The role of this presidency has become more and more important throughout the years due to the number of countries that have become members of the EU.
We speak of a « rotating » presidency because each of the 27 Member States has the opportunity to preside over it in order to advance the work of the Council of the EU at the legislative level. These presidencies work on a « trio » basis: the presiding country decides to collaborate with two others according to a common agenda and long-term objectives that will be addressed over a period of 18 months. The aim is to ensure continuity between presidencies.
From 2022, France will have to carry out several missions at the legislative level and will have to chair all the meetings of the Council of the EU by areas of activity, with each French minister assuming this function within the area of which he or she is a member. Even if this role is more of a mediator, the presidency represents an opportunity for the presiding Member State to add some of these priorities to the European agenda.
After presenting his priorities at a conference at the Élysée Palace, French President Emmanuel Macron will reiterate his words in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 19 January 2022.
The year 2022 will be crucial for the current president, who will combine the role of president of the republic with being head of the EU Council. The actions taken could also be decisive for the French presidential elections in May of the same year, if Mr Macron succeeds in restoring an important place for France on the European and international scene.
Pablo ARELLANO-GARCIA