List of European Councils - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This is a list of European Councils; the meetings of the European Council

European Council

The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...

, an institution

Institutions of the European Union

The European Union is governed by seven institutions. Article 13 of Treaty on European Union lists them in the following order: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European...

of the European Union (EU) comprising heads of state

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

or government

Head of government

Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

of EU member states

Member State of the European Union

A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...

. They started in 1975 as tri-annual meetings, but now take place at least four times a year and, in recent years, usually six times, either for a single day or for two days (see list below).

1975–2009

#	Year	Date	Type	EU Council presidency Presidency of the Council of the European Union The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union that rotates between the member states of the European Union every six months. The presidency is not a single president but rather the task is undertaken by a national...	President-in-Office President of the European Council The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...	Host city
1	1975	10–11 March	―	Republic of Ireland	Liam Cosgrave Liam Cosgrave Liam Cosgrave is an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach and as Leader of Fine Gael . He was a Teachta Dála from 1943 to 1981....	Dublin
2		16–17 July	―	Italy	Aldo Moro Aldo Moro Aldo Moro was an Italian politician and the 39th Prime Minister of Italy, from 1963 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1976. He was one of Italy's longest-serving post-war Prime Ministers, holding power for a combined total of more than six years....	Brussels Brussels Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
3		1–2 December	―	Italy		Rome
4	1976	1–2 April	―	Luxembourg	Gaston Thorn Gaston Thorn Gaston Egmond Thorn was a Luxembourg politician who served in a number of high-profile positions, both domestically and internationally...	Luxembourg Luxembourg (city) The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...
5		12–13 July	―	Netherlands	Joop den Uyl Joop den Uyl Johannes Marten den Uijl, known as Joop den Uyl was a Dutch politician of the Labour Party . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from May 11, 1973 until December 19, 1977....	Brussels
6		29–30 November	―	Netherlands		The Hague The Hague The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
7	1977	25–27 March	―		James Callaghan James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...	Rome
8		29–30 June	―			London
9		5–6 December	―	Belgium	Leo Tindemans	Brussels
10	1978	7–8 April	―	Denmark	Anker Jørgensen Anker Jørgensen Anker Jørgensen is a former Danish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. He led or represented the Social Democratic Party for well over 30 years.-Early political and personal life:...	Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
11		6–7 July	―	Germany	Helmut Schmidt Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting...	Bremen
12		4–5 December	―	Germany		Brussels
13	1979	12–13 March	―	Early Modern France	Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...	Paris
14		21–22 June	―	Early Modern France		Strasbourg Strasbourg Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
15		29–30 November	―	Republic of Ireland	Jack Lynch Jack Lynch John Mary "Jack" Lynch was the Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office; from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979....	Dublin
16	1980	17–18 April	―	Italy	Francesco Cossiga Francesco Cossiga Francesco Cossiga was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari....	Luxembourg
17		12–13 June	―	Italy		Venice Venice Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
18		1–2 December	―	Luxembourg	Pierre Werner	Luxembourg
19	1981	23–24 March	―	Netherlands	Dries van Agt Dries van Agt Andreas Antonius Maria "Dries" van Agt is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from December 19, 1977, until November 4, 1982....	Maastricht Maastricht Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
20		29–30 June	―	Netherlands		Luxembourg
21		26–27 November	―		Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...	London
22	1982	29–30 March	―	Belgium	Wilfried Martens Wilfried Martens Wilfried Martens is a Belgian politician. He was born in Sleidinge . Martens was the 44th Prime Minister of Belgium from 3 April 1979 to 6 April 1981 and 17 December 1981 to 7 March 1992....	Brussels
23		28–29 June	―	Belgium		Brussels
24		3–4 December	―	Denmark	Poul Schlüter Poul Schlüter Poul Holmskov Schlüter is a Danish politician, who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993.Born in Tønder, south Jutland, he graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1957 with a degree in law, and joined the bar in 1960. Schlüter was a member of the Danish Parliament for the...	Copenhagen
25	1983	21–22 March	―	Germany	Helmut Kohl Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...	Brussels
26		17–19 June	―	Germany		Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
27		4–6 December	―	Greece	Andreas Papandreou Andreas Papandreou Andreas G. Papandreou ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, a socialist politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics. The son of Georgios Papandreou, Andreas was a Harvard-trained academic...	Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
28	1984	19–20 March	―	Early Modern France	François Mitterrand François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...	Brussels
29		25–26 June	―	Early Modern France		Fontainebleau Fontainebleau Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
30		3–4 December	―	Republic of Ireland	Garret FitzGerald Garret FitzGerald Garret FitzGerald was an Irish politician who was twice Taoiseach of Ireland, serving in office from July 1981 to February 1982 and again from December 1982 to March 1987. FitzGerald was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1965 and was subsequently elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in 1969. He...	Dublin
31	1985	29–30 March	―	Italy	Bettino Craxi Bettino Craxi Benedetto Craxi was an Italian politician, head of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993, the first socialist President of the Council of Ministers of Italy from 1983 to 1987.-Political career:...	Brussels
32		28–29 June	―	Italy		Milan Milan Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
33		2–3 December	―	Luxembourg	Jacques Santer	Luxembourg
34	1986	26–27 June	―	Netherlands	Ruud Lubbers Ruud Lubbers Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from November 4, 1982 until August 22, 1994....	The Hague
35	1986	5–6 December	―		Margaret Thatcher	London
36	1987	29–30 June	―	Belgium	Wilfried Martens	Brussels
37	1987	4–5 December	―	Denmark	Poul Schlüter	Copenhagen
38	1988	11–13 February	―	Germany	Helmut Kohl	Brussels
39		27–28 June	―	Germany	Helmut Kohl	Hanover Hanover Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
40		2–3 December	―	Greece	Andreas Papandreou	Rhodes Rhodes Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
41	1989	26–27 June	―	Spain	Felipe González Felipe González Felipe González Márquez is a Spanish socialist politician. He was the General Secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. To date, he remains the longest-serving Prime Minister of Spain, after having served four successive mandates from 1982 to 1996.-Early life:Felipe was...	Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
42		18 November	Informal	Early Modern France	François Mitterrand	Paris
43		8–9 December	―	Early Modern France	François Mitterrand	Strasbourg
44	1990	28 April	Extraordinary	Republic of Ireland	Charles Haughey Charles Haughey Charles James "Charlie" Haughey was Taoiseach of Ireland, serving three terms in office . He was also the fourth leader of Fianna Fáil...	Dublin
45		25–26 June	―	Republic of Ireland		Dublin
46		27–28 October	―	Italy	Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior , Defense Minister and Foreign Minister and he...	Rome
47		14–15 December	―	Italy		Rome
48	1991	8 April	Informal	Luxembourg	Jacques Santer	Luxembourg
49		28–29 June	―	Luxembourg	Jacques Santer	Luxembourg
50		9–10 December	―	Netherlands	Ruud Lubbers	Maastricht
51	1992	27 June	―	Portugal	Aníbal Cavaco Silva Aníbal Cavaco Silva Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, GCC , is the President of Portugal. He won the Portuguese presidential election on 22 January 2006 and was re-elected on 23 January 2011, for a second five-year term. Cavaco Silva was sworn in on 9 March 2006....	Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
52		16 October	―		John Major John Major Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
53		11–12 December	―			Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
54	1993	21–22 June	―	Denmark	Poul Nyrup Rasmussen Poul Nyrup Rasmussen Poul Nyrup Rasmussen , informally Poul Nyrup, born 15 June 1943), was Prime Minister of Denmark from 25 January 1993 to 27 November 2001 and is currently President of the Party of European Socialists . He was the leader of the governing Social Democrats from 1992 to 2002...	Copenhagen
55		29 October	―	Belgium	Jean-Luc Dehaene Jean-Luc Dehaene -Early life and political career:He was born in Montpellier, France, when his parents were fleeing German troops. He got into politics through the Algemeen Christelijk Werknemersverbond , a trade union which was closely linked to the Christelijke Volkspartij .In 1981, he became Minister of Social...	Brussels
56		10–11 December	―	Belgium		Brussels
57	1994	24–25 June	―	Greece	Andreas Papandreou	Corfu Corfu Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
58		15 July	―	Germany	Helmut Kohl	Brussels
59		9–10 December	―	Germany	Helmut Kohl	Essen
60	1995	26–27 June	―	Early Modern France	Jacques Chirac Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...	Cannes Cannes Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
61		22–23 October	Extraordinary	Spain	Felipe González	Majorca
62		15–16 December	―	Spain	Felipe González	Madrid
63	1996	29–30 March	―	Italy	Lamberto Dini	Turin Turin Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
64		21–22 June	―	Italy	Romano Prodi Romano Prodi Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...	Florence Florence Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
65		5 October	Extraordinary	Republic of Ireland	John Bruton John Bruton John Gerard Bruton is an Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. A minister under two taoisigh, Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald, Bruton held a number of the top posts in Irish government, including Minister for Finance , and Minister for Industry, Trade,...	Dublin
66		13–14 December	―	Republic of Ireland		Dublin
67	1997	23 May	Informal	Netherlands	Wim Kok Wim Kok Willem "Wim" Kok ; born September 29, 1938) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from August 22, 1994 until July 22, 2002....	Noordwijk Noordwijk Noordwijk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 51.53 km² and had a population of 24,707 in May 2006....
68		16–17 June	―	Netherlands		Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
69		20–21 November	Extraordinary	Luxembourg	Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker is a Luxembourg politician, 23rd and current Prime Minister of Luxembourg, since 20 January 1995. He is the longest standing head of government of any European Union state...	Luxembourg
70		12–13 December	―	Luxembourg		Luxembourg
71	1998	3 May	―		Tony Blair Tony Blair Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...	Brussels
72		15–16 June	―			Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
73		24–25 October	Informal	Austria	Viktor Klima Viktor Klima Viktor Klima is an Austrian Social Democrat politician and businessman. He was chancellor of Austria from 1997 to 2000.-Early career:...	Pörtschach Pörtschach am Wörthersee Pörtschach am Wörthersee , or Poertschach, is a town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in Carinthia in south central Austria....
74		11–12 December	―	Austria		Vienna Vienna Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
75	1999	26 February March	Informal	Germany	Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...	Königswinter Königswinter Königswinter is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite to Bonn, at the foot of the Siebengebirge.- Main sights :...
76		25–26 March	―			Berlin
77		14 April	Informal			Brussels
78		3–4 June	―			Cologne Cologne Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
79		15–16 October	―	Finland	Paavo Lipponen Paavo Lipponen Paavo Tapio Lipponen is a Finnish politician and former reporter. He was Prime Minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003, and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 1993 to 2005...	Tampere Tampere Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
80		10–11 December	―	Finland		Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
81	2000	23–24 March	―	Portugal	António Guterres António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, GCC is a Portuguese politician, a former prime minister and President of the Socialist International. Currently he is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.-Early life:...	Lisbon
82		19–20 June	―	Portugal		Santa Maria da Feira
83		13–14 October	Informal	Early Modern France	Jacques Chirac	Biarritz Biarritz Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
84		7–9 December	―	Early Modern France	Jacques Chirac	Nice Nice Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
85	2001	23–24 March	―	Sweden	Göran Persson Göran Persson Hans Göran Persson was the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Conceding defeat in the September 2006 general election, he announced that he would resign as party leader, and Mona Sahlin was elected to succeed him as...	Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
86		15–16 June	―	Sweden		Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
87		21 September	Informal	Belgium	Guy Verhofstadt Guy Verhofstadt Guy Verhofstadt is a Belgian politician who was the 47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.- Early career :...	Brussels
88		19 October	Informal			Ghent Ghent Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
89		14–15 December	―			Laken Laken Laeken or Laken is a residential suburb in north-west Brussels in Belgium...
90	2002	15–16 March	―	Spain	José María Aznar López José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He is on the board of directors of News Corporation.-Early life:...	Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
91		21–22 June	―	Spain		Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
92		24–25 October	―	Denmark	Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a Danish politician, and the 12th and current Secretary General of NATO. Rasmussen served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 27 November 2001 to 5 April 2009....	Brussels
93		12–13 December	―	Denmark		Copenhagen
94	2003	17 February	Extraordinary	Greece	Costas Simitis Costas Simitis Konstantinos Simitis , usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis, was Prime Minister of Greece and leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement from 1996 to 2004.- Biography :...	Brussels
95		20–21 March	―			Brussels
96		16–17 April	Informal			Athens
97		20 June	―			Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
98		4 October	Extraordinary	Italy	Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...	Rome
99		16–17 October	―			Brussels
100		12–13 December	―			Brussels
101	2004	25–26 March	―	Republic of Ireland	Bertie Ahern Bertie Ahern Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....	Brussels
102		17–18 June	―	Republic of Ireland		Brussels
103		4–5 November	―	Netherlands	Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Peter Balkenende Jan Pieter "Jan Peter" Balkenende is a Dutch politician of the party Christian Democratic Appeal .He was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 July 2002 until 14 October 2010, having led four coalition governments, cabinets Balkenende I, II, III and IV, none of which served a full...	Brussels
104		16–17 December	―	Netherlands		Brussels
105	2005	22–23 March	―	Luxembourg	Jean-Claude Juncker	Brussels
106		16–17 June	―	Luxembourg	Jean-Claude Juncker	Brussels
107		27 October	Informal		Tony Blair	Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...
108		15–16 December	―		Tony Blair	Brussels
109	2006	23–24 March	―	Austria	Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007...	Brussels
110		15–16 June	―	Austria		Brussels
111		20 October	Informal	Finland	Matti Vanhanen Matti Vanhanen Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician. He is a former Prime Minister of Finland and a former Chairman of the Centre Party. In the second half of 2006 he was President of the European Council. In his earlier career he was a journalist...	Lahti Lahti Lahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...
112		14–15 December	―	Finland		Brussels
113	2007	8–9 March	―	Germany	Angela Merkel Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...	Brussels
114		21–22 June	―	Germany		Brussels
115		18–19 October	Informal	Portugal	José Sócrates José Sócrates José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa, GCIH , commonly known by José Sócrates , is a Portuguese politician who was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 12 March 2005 to 21 June 2011....	Lisbon
116		14 December	―	Portugal		Brussels
117	2008	13–14 March	―	Slovenia	Janez Janša Janez Janša Janez Janša is a Slovenian politician who was Prime Minister of Slovenia from November 2004 to November 2008. He has also been President of the Slovenian Democratic Party since 1993...	Brussels
118		19–20 June	―	Slovenia		Brussels
119		13–14 July	―	Early Modern France	Nicholas Sarkozy	Brussels
120		1 September	Extraordinary			Brussels
–		13 October	Eurozone Eurozone The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...			Paris
121		22–23 October	―			Brussels
122		7 November	Extraordinary			Brussels
123	2009	1 March	Extraordinary	Czech Republic	Mirek Topolánek Mirek Topolánek Mirek Topolánek is a former prime minister of the Czech Republic and former President of the European Council. A member of the Civic Democratic Party, he was chairman of the center-right party between November 2002 and March 2010, succeeding Václav Klaus, who was elected President in 2003.On 24...	Brussels
124		19–20 March	―			Brussels
125		5 April	―		Jan Fischer Jan Fischer (politician) Jan Fischer was Prime Minister of the caretaker government of Czech Republic in 2009−2010. A lifelong statistician, he was previously the president of the Czech Statistical Office since April 2003.- Personal life and education :...	Prague Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
126		18–19 June	―			Brussels
127		17 September	Extraordinary	Sweden	Fredrik Reinfeldt Fredrik Reinfeldt John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...	Brussels
128		29–30 October	―			Brussels
129		19 November	Extraordinary			Brussels
130		10–11 December	—			Brussels

2010–present

#	Year	Date	Type	President President of the European Council The President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...	Location	Conclusion
131	2010	11 February	Informal	Herman Van Rompuy Herman Van Rompuy Herman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...	Solvay Library Leopold Park Parc Léopold or Leopoldspark is a public park located within the Leopold Quarter of Brussels, adjacent to the Paul-Henri Spaak building, the seat of the European Parliament.... , Brussels
132		25–26 March	―		Justus Lipsius building Justus Lipsius building The Justus Lipsius building is a building in Brussels that has been the headquarters of the Council of the European Union since 1995. Unlike the European Parliament, visiting is restricted... , Brussels	http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/113591.pdf
–		7 May	Eurozone Eurozone The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...		Justus Lipsius building, Brussels
133		17 June	―		Justus Lipsius building, Brussels	http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/115346.pdf
134		16 September	―		Justus Lipsius building, Brussels	http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/116547.pdf
135		28–29 October	―		Justus Lipsius building, Brussels	http://consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/117496.pdf
136		16–17 December	―		Justus Lipsius building, Brussels	http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/118578.pdf

Cologne 1999

The European Council met in Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

on 3–4 June 1999 to consider issues after the Treaty of Amsterdam came into force. Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...

presented his plan for the future Commission's

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

work and reform program. The Council called for an EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European Union citizens and residents, into EU law. It was drafted by the European Convention and solemnly proclaimed on 7 December 2000 by the European Parliament, the Council of...

.

The Council designated Javier Solana

Javier Solana

Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González and Secretary General of NATO , he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary...

for the post of Secretary-General of the Council

Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...

of the European Union (with Pierre de Boissieu

Pierre de Boissieu

Pierre de Boissieu is a French diplomat and former French ambassador to the European Union . He was the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union from 1 December 2009 until 26 June 2011. In this post he was preceded by Javier Solana and was succeeded by Uwe Corsepius...

as his deputy) and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It decided on a common policy on Russia (first use of the CFSP). Adopted the declaration on Kosovo. In relation to the European Security and Defence Policy

European Security and Defence Policy

The Common Security and Defence Policy , formerly known as the European Security and Defence Policy , is a major element of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union and is the domain of EU policy covering defence and military aspects...

, a major element of the CFSP, the council declared that the EU "must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises without prejudice to actions by NATO." (Declared in St Malo by France and Great Britain)

Laken 2001

The Laken European Council was held at the royal palace at Laken

Laken

Laeken or Laken is a residential suburb in north-west Brussels in Belgium...

, Belgium on 14–15 December 2001.

The main matters the Laken European Council dealt with were: new measures in the area of Justice and Home Affairs: the European arrest warrant, a common definition of terrorism, and EUROJUST

Eurojust

Eurojust is an agency of the European Union dealing with judicial co-operation in criminal matters....

; the seats of 10 new EU agencies—after hours of disagreement, the European Council failed to reach an agreement and decided to leave the decision until next year; the impending introduction of Euro cash (the European Council met with the Finance ministers to consider this); the progress of EU enlargement; the adoption of the Laken Declaration on the Future of Europe, establishing the European Convention, to be presided over with former President of France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...

, as President of the Convention, and former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato

Giuliano Amato

Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly...

and former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene

Jean-Luc Dehaene

-Early life and political career:He was born in Montpellier, France, when his parents were fleeing German troops. He got into politics through the Algemeen Christelijk Werknemersverbond , a trade union which was closely linked to the Christelijke Volkspartij .In 1981, he became Minister of Social...

as Vice-Presidents. The Convention was tasked with drafting the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe

Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe , , was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European Union...

, and would have about 60 members, drawn from national governments, national Parliamentarians, the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

, and the European Commission

European Commission

, and include representatives from the candidate countries. The declaration reviews the progress of European integration over the last fifty years, tracing it back to its origins in the horrors of World War II, and poses a number of questions to be answered by the Convention.

External links

Presidency Conclusions – Europa
Europa (web portal)
Europa is the official web portal of the European Union . It is intended to improve the public’s interaction with EU institutions by quickly directing website visitors to the services or information they are seeking. Europa links to all EU agencies and institutions in addition to press releases...
List of European Councils – European NAvigator
European NAvigator
European NAvigator was the former name of the digital library on the history of European integration and related institutions. The research project is now online at www.cvce.eu, a website dedicated to European integration studies....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

1975–2009

2010–present

Cologne 1999

Laken 2001

See also

External links