Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Belgium is the holder of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July 2010 to 31 December 2010. For the first time, the Belgian Presidency is part of a Trio Presidency, in which three countries – Spain, Belgium and Hungary – are coordinating their activities in this role. The Trio Presidency began with Spain’s six-month term and will be concluded by Hungary, which will take over the Presidency from Belgium in January 2011.

The cooperation between the three Member States aims to establish greater continuity in the European Union’s initiatives and activities as laid down in the EU treaties and assumes concrete form in the trio’s common work programme. In addition to this programme, Belgium has also set a number of its own priorities.