It is a great responsibility at a challenging time. On 1 July Germany will take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months. A few weeks before the start, federal government spokesperson Steffen Seibert has presented the logo and the motto. 

"Together for Europe’s recovery"  The motto of Germany’s Presidency reflects the massive challenges facing the European Union at the moment.

Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union will focus on finding compromises and solutions in order to master the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic together, equipping Europe for the future. During its Presidency, Germany will work with all its strength to ensure that Europe emerges from the crisis stronger than before.

A Möbius strip as the logo of the Presidency

A Möbius strip has been chosen as the logo of Germany’s Presidency. It is a geometric figure with very special properties: it is actually one-sided although it does not appear to be at first sight. 

The Möbius strip thus symbolises the fact that Europe generates unity and connectedness, even where there is a huge range of different interests. Because it doesn’t matter where you start on the Möbius strip, you will always meet on the same side, even if you start on different sides and take different directions. And that is the strength of Europe.

The Möbius strip takes its name from the German mathematician and astronomer August Ferdinand Möbius (1790 - 1868). Find out more about the Möbius strip and the man it is named after here.

Official Presidency website eu2020.de

Only a preview of the Presidency website is currently available. The website at www.eu2020.de will be the main information platform of the German government during its Presidency of the Council of the EU. As of 1 July it will report on topics, programmes and events and provide up-to-the-minute news relating to Germany’s Presidency.

It will be available in German, English and French. A translation tool will make available machine translations in all 24 EU languages.

Every six months the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union passes to the next member state in turn. Croatia holds the Presidency for the first six months of 2020. Germany will then take over for the second half of the year. During this period, Germany will chair the Council and all Council meetings. If you want to know more about the Presidency of the European Union read the FAQs here. You can test your knowledge here.