France took over the EU Council Presidency for the 13th time. One date during a French Presidency that will go down in EU history is 11 December 2000: this was the day the heads of state and government adopted the Treaty of Nice. The following were present on the German side: then Federal Chancellor Schröder (1st from left) and Foreign Minister Fischer (4th from left), here with French President Chirac (2nd from left) and Prime Minister Jospin (3rd from left). The agreement initiated reforms mainly with a view to preparing the European Union for its forthcoming expansion to the east and south: twelve new EU member states were to be added to the existing total of 15.
Photo: Federal Government/Stutterheim
