Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Thanks to the unique Belgian state structure  a federal or regional minister can represent Belgium in the Council, depending on the division of competences or powers within Belgium. A Belgian position is determined prior to every Council in consultation with the competent federal and/or regional representatives. The precise arrangement for this is laid down in a cooperation agreement (PDF, 36 kB).

During the Belgian EU Presidency Flanders will take on the following institutional responsibilities:

• Flanders will preside the Council configurations of Education, Youth, Sport, Environment and Fisheries.
• Together with the Walloon Region and the federal authorities, the Flemish authorities are also competent for Agriculture.
• Flanders will assist the Belgian delegation president as Assessor for Employment and Social Affairs and Energy.
• Flanders will also organise meetings on such subjects as Research.

Flemish Ministers will thus preside the formal Council meetings on Education, Youth, Sport, Environment and Fisheries. Flanders is also organising the informal meeting of ministers of Environment and of Education.

Next to this there is a whole range of other meetings and events which Flanders will organise in the frame of the Belgian EU Presidency. Below is a selection of the many events that Flanders is organising: