Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2018

Austria assumed its third presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July 2018, following its presidencies in 1998 und 2006. Within the 6-month presidency, many events ranging from informal ministerial meetings and conferences to expert meetings and cultural events took place in Austria.

The Austrian Presidency's initiatives on gender equality

In the field of Gender Equality, Austria used its Presidency of the Council of the European Union to inspire an open and future-oriented dialogue on gender equality. Austria aims at restoring political attention for and strengthening the discourse on gender equality in the EU, i.a. with the following initiatives:

  • The High-Level Group on Gender Mainstreaming met in Vienna in July 2018.
  • The European conference "Gender Equality and YOU. Young Voices. Joint Initiative." took place in Vienna on 11-12 October 2018.
  • Additionally, two informal ministerial meetings were held:
    • an informal ministerial breakfast of gender equality ministers from EU, EFTA and Western Balkans (12 October 2018); and
    • an informal meeting of gender equality ministers (12 October 2018) was linked to the conference 'Gender Equality and YOU' on 12 October 2018.
  • The "Joint Declaration: Gender Equality as a Priority of the European Union today and in the future" was presented and signed at the informal ministerial meeting of the EU gender equality ministers. 27 EU Member States supported the initiative.

The 'Trio Presidency'

To ensure the continuity of the EU's work in the Council, successive presidencies work together in groups of three. The Trio Presidency adopts a common programme determining the priorities and objectives that will be addressed by the Council over the 18‑month period covered by their presidencies.

During the Austrian presidency the Trio was made up of Estonia (second half of 2017), Bulgaria (first half of 2018), and Austria (second half of 2018). There was a joint programme for the entire 18 month period of this Trio Presidency.

Links and documents