Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU

From July 1, 2017, to January 1, 2018, Estonia will hold the Presidency of Council of the EU.

Estonia is the last new member state to hold the Presidency for the first time. After the Brexit vote occurred in 2016, the UK decided to give up on its Council presidency, which was due to start in July 2017, in order to focus on the complex Brexit negotiations lying ahead. Consequentially, Estonia’s presidency was rescheduled to begin six months earlier than it was originally planned. Despite such a challenge, Estonia has put in a serious amount of effort to ensure that its presidency goes smoothly and according to the plan.

This new CEP Insight deals with the priorities of the Estonian Presidency and what impact it will have on the EU enlargement policy.