Holding the presidency of the EU Council by member states was introduced as early as 1957, with the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, i.e., the Treaty of Rome. The Treaty provided that member states shall take in turns the office of the president of the Council of Ministers, for the period of six months. With the Maastricht treaty in 1992, the presidency functions were extended so as to cover the presidency of the European Council, which meets at least twice a year under the presidency of the head of state of the presidency country or the head of the government of the member state.

In December 2004, the Council of the European Union (the EU Council) adopted the decision that Slovenia shall be the first of the new member states to hold the presidency of the EU Council. Slovenia's Presidency of the EU Council begins on 1 January 2008 and ends on 30 June 2008. During this period, Slovenia will take over three important groups of tasks:

1. It will chair the work of the EU Council and the European Council;
2. It will represent the EU Council in relation to other EU institutions; and
3. It will represent the European Union in the international community.

Organizational Structure of Preparation Activities for Slovenia’s Presidency of the EU Council

As early as January 2005, Slovenia started thorough preparations for holding the presidency of the EU Council. The same month the Slovenian government established the Core Working Group for the EU Presidency chaired by Prime Minister Janez Janša and consisting of the following members: Minister of Finance Andrej Bajuk, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitrij Rupel, Minister of Public Administration  Gregor Virant and State Secretary for European Affairs Janez Lenarčič. The Core Working Group for the EU Presidency was established for reasons of consistent management of the presidency project, structuring general policy guidelines and priority tasks of Slovenian presidency.

For operational management and implementation of the project, the Operational Group for Preparation Activities and Holding the Presidency has been established, headed by State Secretary for European Affairs Janez Lenarčič and consisting of representatives of individual ministries and other bodies participating in the preparation activities.  Within this group, five sub-groups have been established; they are responsible for the preparation and implementation of core tasks:

• Presidency Programme Sub-group (chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• Human Resources Sub-group (chaired by the Ministry of Public Administration)
• Public Relations and Promotion Sub-group (Government Communication  Office)
• Presidency Secretariat (chaired by the Secretariat-General of the Government of the RS)
• Presidency Budget Sub-group (chaired by the Ministry of the Finance)

Some of the key tasks performed prior to the beginning of the Presidency within the individual sub-groups:

Presidency Programme Sub-group

As regards the preparations of the Presidency contents, first the 18-month Presidency Programme, drafted by Slovenia, Germany and Portugal in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the EU Council and the European Commission, was prepared and coordinated. A Calendar of Major Events, a list of informal meetings to take place in Slovenia and meetings with third countries, a list of accompanying events, an overview of multilateral events within the United Nations and obligations of the Republic of Slovenia during its EU Council Presidency were drafted as well. Prior to the beginning of the Presidency, Programme of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council was also prepared.  In addition, several manuals on running the Presidency of the EU Council were composed to assist various users in different activity areas.
 
Human Resources Sub-group
 
While preparing for and holding the Presidency, the government bodies are entitled to 315 additional temporary posts. On 6 October 2005, the Slovenian Government adopted a Staffing Plan for the Presidency, on grounds of which most of the staff to perform key tasks has already been selected.
Prior to the beginning of the Presidency, nearly 2100 civil servants, 176 external experts (seconded, national and international experts) and 251 students were engaged in the Presidency Project. The Permanent Representation of the Republic of Slovenia to the EU in Brussels employs 117 people. In May 2006, the first central level training started for all participants in the Presidency Project.  Thus, more than 250 daily seminars were organised by the end of October 2007.

Public Relations and Promotion Sub-group
 
In February 2006, the overall graphic design for the Slovenian Presidency was selected on the basis of professional opinion of prominent national and international experts through open call for tenders.
 
The website of the Slovenian Presidency has been officially available since 1 January 2008, while the media part of the website was accessible a few months earlier. It contains the details of the Presidency Programme and information on Slovenia for the general public as well as a calendar of events and meetings for media and specialised public. In December 2005, the intranet as the basic communication tool intended for the State Administration working on the Presidency Project became operational.
 
The EU Presidency Secretariat
 
At the end of April 2007, the EU Presidency Secretariat was established in order to upgrade the organisational structure of the Presidency Project in the area of organisational and logistic matters and to adjust it to meet the needs of the Presidency. The Secretariat has so far coordinated logistics and other organisational and technical preparations for the Presidency; during the Presidency, it will coordinate logistics activities carried out by competent offices and ministries as organisers of individual events. The EU Presidency Secretariat has also been in charge of the majority of public calls for tenders related to the needs arising from the Presidency.

All logistic and organisational aspects of informal events to take place in Slovenia have been carefully planned in cooperation with line ministries hosting the events. In Slovenia, most events related to the Presidency will be held in a central location at the newly built Brdo Congress Centre.

Presidency Budget Sub-group
 
In accordance with the Budget Memorandum, Slovenia has allocated 62 million euros for its EU Council Presidency. The allocations for the Presidency have been envisaged in the supplementary budgets for 2005 (EUR 468,202) and 2006 (EUR 5.5 million). The fund disbursement, provided for by a budget amendment for 2007, amounts to 22.7 million euros, while the total sum for 2008 amounts to 33.8 million euros. In June 2007, a comprehensive audit of the Presidency Project budget, on grounds of which a draft amending budget for 2008 has been prepared, was carried out.

More information about Slovenian Presidency