
On 1 July France passed the baton of the EU presidency to the Czech Republic. The rotating presidency involves setting the European Union’s agenda for a period of six months, with all 27 EU member states holding that position once every thirteen and a half years.
The last time France headed the EU Presidency was in 2008 and preparations for the 2022 turn at the helm started three years ago under the government of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who reserved a €140million budget to deal with special occasions related to the presidency.