The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg held the reins of the EU Council presidency between 1 July
and 31 December 2015. This was the 12th time that the second-smallest and the richest EU
member state1
held the rotating Council presidency. As one of the founding members of the
EU, Luxembourg has sound experience to bring to this role. It was, however, their first presidency
since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and its introduction of the trio presidency format, this
time including Italy and Latvia. Under the slogan ‘A Union for the Citizens’, Luxembourg had the
task of concluding certain major dossiers before the end of the trio’s term and was able to contribute to
its overarching agenda, especially regarding the priorities of financial stability, growth stimulation and
the digital agenda