Priority dossiers under the French EU Council Presidency

France will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2022. It will initiate the work of the Trio Presidency composed of France, Czechia and Sweden. Executive power is exercised by the President of the Republic, who is elected by direct, popular vote, and the Government. The Prime Minister, appointed by the President, together with the Ministers, is answerable to the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, and they can be removed by a vote of censure. Parliament consists of the National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly is the principal parliamentary body, composed of 577 members, who are elected directly for five-year terms. The Presidential election will coincide with the French Presidency, in April 2022. France is a founding Member State of the European Union, and has already held the rotating Presidency of the Council 13 times. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, will present the political priorities of the Presidency to the European Parliament during the January plenary session in Strasbourg. While the last French Presidency, in 2008, was characterised by the global financial crisis, the forthcoming one is expected to be dominated by the ongoing Covid pandemic, the cost of energy crisis and the aftermath of Brexit. The French Presidency will very likely give special impetus to the conclusion of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which should take place in the first half of 2022. The plan is for the Trio Presidency, in its role as member/observer in the Executive Board of the Conference, to draw on the outcomes of the various activities and citizens’ recommendations, outline how they define the future of the Union, and start the implementation process.