Every six months, the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers rotates between the member states.
During each period, the countries present a slogan that will set the tone for the six months when they hold the baton.
– In a political context, it’s about trying to stand out a bit, but also to give everyone who works with the presidency something to hang it on, says Niklas Bremberg, political scientist at Stockholm University.
Lead the Council of Ministers
A presiding country has two main tasks: to lead the work of the Council of Ministers and to represent the Council in relations with the other EU institutions.
– It is also about “nation branding”, i.e. the image of a country. They try to connect the presidency to an image they want to convey of the country that is bigger than the political presidency and is about the perception of the country
Since 2009, when the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, there is also a person who is permanent president of the European Council.
– This has meant that the presidency no longer has the same weight and the role has diminished. Thus, slogans, which should talk about what the countries want with the period, can rather be seen as a political tool to get a message out, although it can certainly be useful for the countries to structure talking points.
Hungary: “Make Europe great again”
On July 1, Hungary took over the presidency of the EU Council of Ministers with “Make Europe great again”. The motto, which they have for the turn of the year, with a clear allusion to Trump’s “Make America great again” has generated a lot of attention.
– With the election, it will take a while before the commission is in place and you really start work on new legislation, and therefore what Hungary will have time to do is limited, says Niklas Bremberg and continues:
– Orban, faithful to his habit, is good at upsetting the status quo by using a slogan that sends a signal. Then the media logic looks like the media are interested in right-wing nationalist parties and get started. That way he knows what he’s doing.
Hear Niklas Bremberg guess which countries have had which slogan in the video above.