France · EU Council Presidency

At that time, the presidency of the Council of the European Union rotated every six months among the member states. The country holding the presidency planned and chaired most Council meetings, mediated between the governments and represented the Council vis-à-vis other EU institutions. Before the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force, this role also included chairing meetings of the European Council. For France, President Nicolas Sarkozy therefore played a central role at the summits of heads of state or government. The Council of the EU should not be confused with the Council of Europe, which is not an institution of the European Union.

During its term, France placed European climate and energy policy, immigration and asylum, agricultural policy, and European security and defence policy on the agenda, among other issues. In December, the member states agreed on the climate and energy package with targets for 2020. The European Pact on Immigration and Asylum had already been adopted in October. The Union for the Mediterranean, founded at a summit in Paris in July, was also among the French initiatives.

The political agenda was also shaped by several crises. Following Ireland’s rejection of the Treaty of Lisbon in June, further steps regarding the planned EU reform had to be discussed. During the war between Russia and Georgia in August, Sarkozy mediated a ceasefire plan on behalf of the European Union. In the autumn, the international financial crisis required the European governments to coordinate measures to stabilise banks and financial markets. Several crisis meetings were held under French leadership, including a summit of the heads of state or government of the euro area.

The choice of this subject for a circulating coin made a time-limited institutional task of France visible in everyday life. Unlike coins commemorating historical anniversaries, the issue referred to an ongoing political event. The purely typographic design reflected its state-institutional character without placing an individual person or a building at the centre.