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The European Council consists of the 27 Heads of State or Government of the EU Member States, who are voting members, together with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, who have no vote (Article 15(2) Treaty on European Union). The chart shows the current members, the national office they hold, their most recent European political affiliation, and the year their membership began.

Europe's long-term strategy for the competitiveness of its economy, notably regarding investment, innovation and trade, will be at the centre of the European Council meeting on 23 and 24 March 2023. EU leaders will of course address Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, and consider the multidimensional (political, financial, economic, humanitarian and military) assistance the EU and its Member States have been providing to Ukraine, particularly joint ammunition procurement. Regarding energy ...

This EPRS publication, ‘Key Issues in the European Council’, which will be updated quarterly to coincide with European Council meetings, aims to provide an overview of the institution’s activities on major EU issues. It analyses nine policy areas, explaining the legal and political background and the main priorities and orientations defined by the European Council. It also assesses the results of European Council involvement to date and identifies future challenges in the various policy fields.

'This is Europe' – an initiative proposed by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola – consists of a series of debates with EU leaders to discuss their visions for the future of the European Union. In his address to the European Parliament on 14 March 2023, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, emphasised three topics: i) support for Ukraine and that country's place in Europe (i.e. enlargement); ii) the importance of historical memory; and iii) the challenges facing Europe ...

Plenary debates on the conclusions of European Council meetings with the president of the European Council are among the most visible and frequently recurring interactions between Parliament and the European Council. These debates are important because they are the only place at EU level where the results of European Council meetings are examined and scrutinised, and the institution is held accountable. By examining and assessing the reports made by Charles Michel to the European Parliament following ...

The symbolic attendance of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the special European Council meeting, and his poignant address to EU leaders, meant that the meeting focused more on Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine than initially envisaged. EU leaders discussed with the Ukrainian President his 10-point peace plan, a possible new sanctions package, additional military, financial and humanitarian support, and the road towards opening Ukraine's EU accession negotiations. The other ...

EU Heads of State or Government will gather on 9 and 10 February 2023 for a special European Council meeting. In addition to Russia's war on Ukraine, which will notably be addressed in the context of the EU–Ukraine summit held on 3 February 2023, the main agenda points will include migration and the EU's economy. On migration, EU leaders will consider immediate operational action to address growing migratory pressure at the EU's borders. In particular, they will discuss measures to strengthen EU ...

'This is Europe' – an initiative proposed by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola – consists of a series of debates with EU leaders to discuss their visions for the future of the European Union. On 13 December, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob, envisaged a European Union that believes in the power of integration, the power of cooperation and the power of unity. His main message was the importance of the energy transition. In the context of current high energy prices ...

The last regular European Council meeting of 2022 ended with agreements on most open agenda points, notably the €18 billion of assistance to Ukraine and the ninth sanctions package. While the detailed decision on the cap for energy prices was left to the Energy Council to define, EU leaders specified in their conclusions that the proposal was to be finalised on 19 December 2022. In a long strategic discussion on EU-US relations, European Council members concurred that they want an active dialogue ...

The role of the European Council is to 'provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development' and to define its 'general political directions and priorities'. Since its creation in 1975, the European Council has exercised considerable influence over the development of the European Union, a process enhanced by its designation as a formal institution of the Union under the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. The European Council Oversight Unit within the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS ...