Thursday, 04/01/2018 19:14 (GMT+7)
Bulgaria has taken over the rotating six-month European Union Council presidency from Estonia.
Photo for illustration (Source: aa.com.tr)
While holding the Presidency, Bulgaria will seek agreement and will work for the unity of the Union, pointed out the Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at a joint session in Brussels between the Bulgarian government and the College of Commissioners.
“Bulgaria is ready to take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU. Our ambition is that during the Bulgarian Presidency the Union will become stronger and more resilient,” he added.
According to the Prime Minister, the motto of the Bulgarian Presidency “United we stand stronger” is a lesson learned from the country's history.
The Presidency’s will be an important test for the national political, administrative and diplomatic capacity. The government holding the Presidency is responsible for the preparation, coordination and leadership of all meetings of the Council of the EU and its supporting bodies and structures.
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the EU, the upper house of the EU legislature. It rotates among the member states of the EU every six months. The Presidency is not an individual, but rather the position is held by a national government. The Presidency's function is to chair meetings of the Council, determine its agendas, set a work program and facilitate dialogue both at Council meetings and with other EU institutions.
Three successive presidencies are known as presidency trios. The current trio (2017-2018) is made up of Estonia (July-December 2017), Bulgaria (January-June 2018) and Austria (July-December 2018)./.
Compiled by BTA