Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

held the presidency of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

during the first half of 2020. The presidency was the last of three presidencies making up a presidency trio, which began with the presidency of Romania, followed by that of Finland. It was the first time Croatia had held the presidency; the country acceded to the European Union in 2013. During the presidency, the United Kingdom left the European Union (Brexit), and the European Union responded to the coronavirus outbreak, which was declared a global pandemic in March.

Overview

At the start of the presidency, two of Croatia's main priorities were dealing with issues arising from Brexit, and negotiating with

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

countries that were interested in joining the European Union. The coronavirus pandemic forced the presidency into crisis mode, and although there were some disjointed efforts during the early stages of the pandemic, the European Union came together to work on a number of common goals, including bringing more than 500,000 European Union citizens stranded elsewhere in the world back home, and proposing a coronavirus relief package worth hundreds of billions of

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

Gallery

References

{{Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2020 in Croatia 2020 in the European Union Croatia and the European Union Presidency of the Council of the European Union