List of European Council meetings

Not to be confused with Euro summit.

This is a list of meetings of the European Council (informally referred to as EU summits); the meetings of the European Council, an institution of the European Union (EU) comprising heads of state or government of EU member states. They started in 1975 as tri-annual meetings. The number of meetings grew to minimum four per year between 1996 and 2007, and minimum six per year since 2008. From 2008 to 2019, an average of seven council meetings per year took place. A record number of meetings (13) were held during 2020 - although mostly as informal video conferences; as the meeting frequency and format was changed this specific year by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2021, an average of eight council meetings per year took place (see list below). Since 2008, an annual average of two special Euro summits were also organized in addition – and often in parallel – to the EU summits. As the agenda of Euro summits is restricted solely to discuss issues for the eurozone and only invite political leaders of the eurozone member states, such meetings are not counted as European Councils. Neither are any of the Tripartite Social Summits, that were held bi-annually since May 2021 between the EU Council presidency, Council President, Commission President and the European social partners at top management level (BusinessEurope, European Trade Union Confederation, SGI Europe, SMEunited and CEC European Managers). The current practice is that meetings are always called and organized to the extent found needed by the European Council president. The upcoming ordinary meetings are scheduled by the end of each semester, by the issuance of a call letter. In 2011-2020 meetings were scheduled and called for the third following semester (minimum one year in advance), but this changed to minimum 6 months in advance for 2021-2023, and since 2024 they are now only issued shortly before the first meeting of the specific semester in concern. The ordinary mettings can take form either as "scheduled ordinary meetings" (always resulting in a published document entitled "conclusions") or "informal ordinary meetings" (never resulting in a published document entitled "conclusions" - but instead often with a published document entitled "statement" or "declaration"). A called scheduled/informal ordinary upcoming meeting might occasionally be moved or cancelled within a short notice, with such change then being notified by the Council president through the issue of a revised calendar plan for the ordinary meetings within the semester in concern. If extra meetings are called outside the procedure of notification by an issued call letter for the upcoming semester in concern, meaning when they are called with short notice to be held within an ongoing semester, then they are referred to as "extraordinary meetings". The phrase "special meeting" is synonymously used for an "extraordinary meeting". Extraordinary meetings can - just like the ordinary meetings - be held either in a formal or informal format. The list does not specify whether or not an extraordinary meeting was formal or informal, but this can be indirectly observed when checking the title of the published document summarizing the outcome of the meeting, as "conclusions" can only be published if the extraordinary meeting had a formal format.

List

The first seven summit meetings were held between 1961 and 1974, but this was before the formal establishment of the European Council. Some sources however consider them to be the informal seven first meetings of the European Council.

1970s

#	Year	Date	Type	EU Council presidency	President-in-Office	Commission President	Host city	Notes
1	1975	10–11 March	―	Ireland	Liam Cosgrave	François-Xavier Ortoli	Dublin	[2] Inaugural formal Council
2		16–17 July	―	Italy	Aldo Moro		Brussels	[3]
3		1–2 December	―				Rome	[4] Established TREVI
4	1976	1–2 April	―	Luxembourg	Gaston Thorn		Luxembourg	[5]
5		12–13 July	―	Netherlands	Joop den Uyl		Brussels	[6]
6		29–30 November	―				The Hague	[7]
7	1977	25–27 March	―	UK	James Callaghan	Roy Jenkins	Rome	[8]
8		29–30 June	―				London	[9]
9		5–6 December	―	Belgium	Leo Tindemans		Brussels	[10]
10	1978	7–8 April	―	Denmark	Anker Jørgensen		Copenhagen	[11]
11		6–7 July	―	West Germany	Helmut Schmidt		Bremen	[12]
12		4–5 December	―				Brussels	[13]
13	1979	12–13 March	―	France	Valéry Giscard d'Estaing		Paris	[14]
14		21–22 June	―				Strasbourg	[15]
15		29–30 November	―	Ireland	Jack Lynch		Dublin	[16]

1980s

#	Year	Date	Type	EU Council presidency	President-in-Office	Commission President	Host city	Notes
16	1980	17–18 April	―	Italy	Francesco Cossiga	Roy Jenkins	Luxembourg	[17]
17		12–13 June	―				Venice	[18]
18		1–2 December	―	Luxembourg	Pierre Werner		Luxembourg	[19]
19	1981	23–24 March	―	Netherlands	Dries van Agt	Gaston Thorn	Maastricht	[20]
20		29–30 June	―				Luxembourg	[21]
21		26–27 November	―	UK	Margaret Thatcher		London	[22]
22	1982	29–30 March	―	Belgium	Wilfried Martens		Brussels	[23]
23		28–29 June	―				Brussels	[24]
24		3–4 December	―	Denmark	Poul Schlüter		Copenhagen	[25]
25	1983	21–22 March	―	West Germany	Helmut Kohl		Brussels	[26]
26		17–19 June	―				Stuttgart	[27]
27		4–6 December	―	Greece	Andreas Papandreou		Athens	[28]
28	1984	19–20 March	―	France	François Mitterrand		Brussels	[29][30]
29		25–26 June	―				Fontainebleau	[31] British rebate agreed
30		3–4 December	―	Ireland	Garret FitzGerald		Dublin	[32]
31	1985	29–30 March	―	Italy	Bettino Craxi	Jacques Delors	Brussels	[33] Initiated the IGC leading to the Single European Act
32		28–29 June	―				Milan	[34]
33		2–3 December	―	Luxembourg	Jacques Santer		Luxembourg	[35]
34	1986	26–27 June	―	Netherlands	Ruud Lubbers		The Hague	[36]
35		5–6 December	―	UK	Margaret Thatcher		London	[37]
36	1987	29–30 June	―	Belgium	Wilfried Martens		Brussels	[38]
37		4–5 December	―	Denmark	Poul Schlüter		Copenhagen	[39]
38	1988	11–13 February	―	West Germany	Helmut Kohl		Brussels	[40]
39		27–28 June	―				Hanover	[41]
40		2–3 December	―	Greece	Andreas Papandreou		Rhodes	[42]
41	1989	26–27 June	―	Spain	Felipe González		Madrid	[43]
42		18 November	Informal	France	François Mitterrand		Paris	[44]
43		8–9 December	―				Strasbourg	[45][46] European Council endorses German reunification despite some Anglo-French opposition.

1990s

#	Year	Date	Type	EU Council presidency	President-in-Office	Commission President	Host city	Notes
44	1990	28 April	Extraordinary	Ireland	Charles Haughey	Jacques Delors	Dublin	[47]
45		25–26 June	―				Dublin	[48]
46		27–28 October	―	Italy	Giulio Andreotti		Rome	[49]
47		14–15 December	―				Rome	[50]
48	1991	8 April	Informal	Luxembourg	Jacques Santer		Luxembourg	[51]
49		28–29 June	―				Luxembourg	[52]
50		9–10 December	―	Netherlands	Ruud Lubbers		Maastricht	[53] Signing of the Treaty of Maastricht
51	1992	27 June	―	Portugal	Aníbal Cavaco Silva		Lisbon	[54]
52		16 October	―	UK	John Major		Birmingham	[55]
53		11–12 December	―				Edinburgh	[56]
54	1993	21–22 June	―	Denmark	Poul Nyrup Rasmussen		Copenhagen	[57] Copenhagen criteria agreed
55		29 October	―	Belgium	Jean-Luc Dehaene		Brussels	[58]
56		10–11 December	―				Brussels	[59]
57	1994	24–25 June	―	Greece	Andreas Papandreou		Corfu	[60] Signing of the Accession Treaty of Austria, Finland, Sweden and Norway (Norway did not ratify)
58		15 July	Extraordinary	Germany	Helmut Kohl		Brussels	[61]
59		9–10 December	―				Essen	[62]
60	1995	26–27 June	―	France	Jacques Chirac	Jacques Santer	Cannes	[63]
61		22–23 October	Extraordinary	Spain	Felipe González		Majorca
62		15–16 December	―				Madrid	[64]
63	1996	29 March	―	Italy	Lamberto Dini		Turin	[65]
64		21–22 June	―		Romano Prodi		Florence	[66]
65		5 October	Extraordinary	Ireland	John Bruton		Dublin
66		13–14 December	―				Dublin	[67]
67	1997	23 May	Informal	Netherlands	Wim Kok		Noordwijk
68		16–17 June	―				Amsterdam	[68] Signed Treaty of Amsterdam
69		20–21 November	Extraordinary	Luxembourg	Jean-Claude Juncker		Luxembourg	[69] Extraordinary European Council on Employment
70		12–13 December	―				Luxembourg
71	1998	3 May	Extraordinary	UK	Tony Blair		Brussels	Special Council on the Euro decides the 11 states which would enter the third stage of EMU
72		15–16 June	―				Cardiff	[70]
73		24–25 October	Informal	Austria	Viktor Klima		Pörtschach
74		11–12 December	―				Vienna	[71]
75	1999	26 February	Informal	Germany	Gerhard Schröder		Königswinter
76		24–25 March	―			Manuel Marin (Interim)	Berlin	[72]
77		14 April	Informal				Brussels
78		3–4 June	―				Cologne	[73] Details below table
79		15–16 October	Extraordinary	Finland	Paavo Lipponen	Romano Prodi	Tampere	[74] Special meeting on justice and home affairs
80		10–11 December	―				Helsinki	[75]

2000s

#	Year	Date	Type	EU Council presidency	President-in-Office	Commission President	Host city	Notes
81	2000	23–24 March	―	Portugal	António Guterres	Romano Prodi	Lisbon	[76] Agreed Lisbon Strategy
82		19–20 June	―				Santa Maria da Feira	[77] Agreement to allow entry of Greece to the Eurozone
83		13–14 October	Informal	France	Jacques Chirac		Biarritz
84		7–10 December	―				Nice	[78] Signed Treaty of Nice
85	2001	23–24 March	―	Sweden	Göran Persson		Stockholm	[79]
86		15–16 June	―				Gothenburg	[80] Enlargement, sustainable development, economic growth and structural reform, in addition to an EU-US summit
87		21 September	Extraordinary	Belgium	Guy Verhofstadt		Brussels	[81] Emergency council – Terrorism
88		19 October	Informal				Ghent	[82]
89		14–15 December	―				Laeken	[83] Details below table
90	2002	15–16 March	―	Spain	José María Aznar López		Barcelona	[84]
91		21–22 June	―				Seville	[85] Decided to reorganise the Council formations to achieve greater focus and efficiency
92		24–25 October	―	Denmark	Anders Fogh Rasmussen		Brussels	[86]
93		12–13 December	―				Copenhagen	[87]
94	2003	17 February	Extraordinary	Greece	Costas Simitis		Brussels	Iraq crisis – Presidency conclusions
95		20–21 March	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions
96		16 April	Informal				Athens	Signing of the Treaty of Accession 2003, Declaration on Iraq European Convention
97		19–20 June	―				Thessaloniki	Presidency conclusions of the June 2003 meeting
98		4 October	Extraordinary	Italy	Silvio Berlusconi		Rome	Beginning of IGC on EU Constitution
99		16–17 October	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the October 2003 meeting
100		12–13 December	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the December 2003 meeting
101	2004	25–26 March	―	Ireland	Bertie Ahern		Brussels	Declaration on combating terrorism Presidency conclusions of the March 2004 meeting
102		17–18 June	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the June 2004 meeting
103		4–5 November	―	Netherlands	Jan Peter Balkenende		Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the November 2004 meeting
104		16–17 December	―			José Manuel Barroso	Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the December 2004 meeting
105	2005	22–23 March	―	Luxembourg	Jean-Claude Juncker		Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the March 2005 meeting
106		16–17 June	―				Brussels	Declaration on the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe Presidency conclusions of the June 2005 meeting
107		27 October	Informal	UK	Tony Blair		London	Globalisation
108		15–16 December	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the December 2005 meeting
109	2006	23–24 March	―	Austria	Wolfgang Schüssel		Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the March 2006 meeting
110		15–16 June	―				Brussels	Agreement to allow entry of Slovenia to the Eurozone Presidency conclusions of the June 2006 meeting
111		20 October	Informal	Finland	Matti Vanhanen		Lahti	Meeting with Vladimir Putin held in Sibelius Hall
112		14–15 December	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the December 2006 meeting
113	2007	8–9 March	―	Germany	Angela Merkel		Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the March 2007 meeting
114		21–22 June	―				Brussels	Agreement on basis for the Treaty of Lisbon Agreement to allow entry of Malta and Cyprus to the Eurozone Presidency conclusions of the June 2007 meeting
115		18–19 October	Informal	Portugal	José Sócrates		Lisbon	Agreement reached on the Reform Treaty Discussed climate change and the US economic crisis.
116		14 December	―				Brussels	Signature of Reform Treaty in Lisbon on 13/12 European Council in Brussels the next day Presidency conclusions of the December 2007 meeting
117	2008	13–14 March	―	Slovenia	Janez Janša		Brussels	Agreed timeframe and principles of energy/climate change policy Presidency conclusions of the March 2008 meeting
118		19–20 June	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the June 2008 meeting
119		13–14 July	Extraordinary	France	Nicolas Sarkozy		Paris	Barcelona process for the Mediterranean
120		1 September	Extraordinary				Brussels	Extraordinary summit on EU-Russia relations (Georgia crisis) Presidency conclusions of the September 2008 meeting
―		12 October	Euro summit				Paris	Eurozone summit conclusions of October 2008 meeting
121		15–16 October	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the October 2008 meeting
122		7 November	Informal				Brussels	Informal summit on the financial crisis of 2007–2008 Conclusions from meeting on the Global Financial Crisis
123		11–12 December	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the December 2008 meeting
124	2009	1 March	Informal	Czech Republic	Mirek Topolánek		Brussels	Informal summit on the financial crisis of 2007–2008 Conclusions of the Global Financial Crisis meeting on 1 March 2009
125		19–20 March	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the March 2009 meeting
126		5 April	Informal (EU-USA summit)		Jan Fischer		Prague	US President Barack Obama in Prague Conclusions of the EU-USA relations meeting in April 2009
127		18–19 June	―				Brussels	Icelandic application accepted Presidency conclusions of the June 2009 meeting Press conference video: 1 and 2
128		17 September	Informal	Sweden	Fredrik Reinfeldt		Brussels	Preparation for the 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit Presidency conclusions of the September 2009 meeting Press conference video
129		29–30 October	―				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the October 2009 meeting Press conference video
130		19 November	Informal				Brussels	Chose the first President of the European Council (Herman Van Rompuy) and the first High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (Catherine Ashton) Presidency conclusions of the November 2009 meeting Press conference video
131		10–11 December	—				Brussels	Presidency conclusions of the December 2009 meeting, Minutes Press conference video: 1 and 2

2010s

Since 2010, all formal (scheduled or extraordinary) European Council meetings have taken place in Brussels and been chaired by a permanent President, as introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon. In February 2010 the exact location was the Solvay Library, subsequent meetings took place at the Justus Lipsius building and since March 2017 at the Europa Building.

#	Year	Date	Type	EU Council presidency	Council President	Commission President	Agenda, Conclusions and Minutes	Press conference
132	2010	11 February	Informal	Spain	Herman Van Rompuy (1st term)	José Manuel Barroso (2nd term)	Statement.	Video
―		25 March	Euro summit				Statement.
133		25–26 March	Scheduled				Conclusions, Minutes	Video: 1 and 2
―		7 May	Euro summit				Statement.	Video
134		17 June	Scheduled				Conclusions, Minutes	Video
135		16 September	Extraordinary (special)	Belgium			Conclusions, Minutes, (note: the Ministers of Foreign Affairs were also present in this special European Council)	Video
136		28–29 October	Scheduled				Conclusions, Minutes	Video: 1 and 2
137		16–17 December	Scheduled				Conclusions, Minutes	Video
138	2011	4 February	Scheduled	Hungary			Conclusions, Minutes	Video
―		11 March	Euro summit				Statement.	Video
139		11 March	Extraordinary				Declaration on EU policy for actions in Libya and the Southern Neighbourhood region, Minutes	Video
140		24–25 March	Scheduled				Conclusions, Minutes	Video: 1 and 2
141		23–24 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, Minutes and corrigendum	Video: 1 and 2
―		21 July	Euro summit	Poland			Statement.	Video
142		23 October	Scheduled				Conclusions, Minutes	Video
―		23–26 October	Euro summit				Statement.	Video: 1 and 2
143		26 October	Informal				Website, Statement.
144		9 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, Minutes	Video: 1 and 2
―		9 December	Euro summit				Statement
―	2012	30 January	Euro summit	Denmark			Agreed lines of communication.
145		30 January	Informal				Website, Statement on growth and jobs, Growth and competitiveness, Foreign policy issues, Fiscal discipline and convergence, Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance.	Video
146		1–2 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, Implementation of the European Semester, Fiscal Compact signed, Van Rompuy re-elected president, Minutes and corrigendum	Video: 1 and 2
―		2 March	Euro summit				Statement.
147		23 May	Informal				Website 1 and 2, Greece: euro area press lines, Tackling youth unemployment.	Video
148		28–29 June	Scheduled		Herman Van Rompuy (2nd term)		Website, Conclusions, Towards a genuine EMU (Council edition), European Council programme July 2012 to Dec.2014, Minutes	Video: 1 and 2
―		28–29 June	Euro summit				Statement	Video
149		18–19 October	Scheduled	Cyprus			Website, Conclusions, Conclusions on completing EMU, Towards a genuine EMU (interim report), Statement on Greece, Minutes	Video: 1 and 2
150		22‑23 November	Extraordinary				Website, Statement on EU's Multiannual Financial Framework 2014–20, Minutes	Video
151		13–14 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, Conclusions on completing EMU, Towards a genuine EMU (final report), Agreed position on bank supervision (SSM), Minutes	Video 1 and 2
152	2013	7–8 February	Scheduled	Ireland			Website, Conclusions, Multiannual Financial Framework.	Video
―		14 March	Euro summit				New procedure rules for Euro summits, Presidential Remarks
153		14–15 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions.	Video: 1 and 2
154		22 May	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions (Taxation and Energy), EC member numbers.	Video
155		27–28 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, EP in 2014–19, Genuine EMU.	Video: 1 and 2
156		24–25 October	Scheduled	Lithuania			Website, Conclusions.	Video: 1 and 2
157		19–20 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, Security & Defense conclusions.	Video: 1 and 2
158	2014	6 March	Extraordinary	Greece			Website (EU stands by Ukraine), Statement on Ukraine.	Video and photo gallery
159		20–21 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, Conclusions on Ukraine, EU sanctions against Russia, Signing of EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.	Video: 1 and 2
160		27 May	Informal				Website, Statement on Ukraine.	Video
161		26–27 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, Conclusions on Ukraine, Strategic agenda for the Union, World War I commemoration, Signing of Association Agreements with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.	Video
162		16 July	Extraordinary	Italy			Website, Conclusions, Conclusions on Ukraine and Gaza.	Video
163		30 August	Extraordinary				Website, Conclusions, Nomination of next European Council president and Foreign Affairs High Representative, Sanctions against Russia over Ukraine crisis.	Video: 1 and 2, Ukrainian President 1a and 1b
164		23–24 October	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, New Commission appointed, 2030 climate and energy policy framework, EU response on Ebola.	Video: 1 and 2
―		24 October	Euro summit				Statement
165		18 December	Scheduled		Donald Tusk (1st term)	Jean-Claude Juncker	Website, Conclusions, Crimea and Sevastopol: further EU sanctions.	Video
166	2015	12 February	Informal	Latvia			Website, Results of the informal meeting, Statement on the fight against terrorism, Next Steps on Better Economic Governance in the Euro Area (analytical note), Remarks about Ukrainian ceasefire.	Video, Ukrainian ceasefire agreement
167		19–20 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, Energy Union, Relations with Russia, European Semester 2015, Statement on Tunisia, Statement on Greece.	Video: 1 and 2
168		23 April	Extraordinary				Website, Statement, 10 point action plan to combat Mediterranean migratory pressures, Minutes	Video
—		22 June	Euro summit				Website, Presidential remarks 1 and 2	Video
169		25–26 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, European Fund for Strategic Investments, Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union.	Video: 1 and 2
—		7 July	Euro summit	Luxembourg			Website, Preparing Eurogroup meeting, Presidential Remarks	Video
—		12 July	Euro summit				Website, Eurogroup meeting, Presidential Remarks, Statement	Video
170		23 September	Informal				Website, Presidential Remarks, Statement	Video
171		15 October	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
172		12 November	Informal				Website, Presidential Remarks
173		17‑18 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
174	2016	18‑19 February	Scheduled	Netherlands			Website, Conclusions
175		17–18 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions, Minutes and corrigendum
176		28 June	Scheduled (postponed due to Brexit Referendum)				Website, Conclusions, Minutes
		29 June	Informalwithout UK				Website, Statement
177		16 September	Informalwithout UK	Slovakia			Website, Declaration and Roadmap
178		20–21 October	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
179		15 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
180	2017	3 February, a.m.	Informal	Malta			Website, Statement and remarks
		3 February, p.m.	Informalwithout UK				Website: "Main results: Preparations for the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties"
181		9 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions by the President, Minutes
		10 March	Informalwithout UK				Website: "Informal meeting"
182		29 April	Extraordinarywithout UK				Website, European Council (Art. 50) guidelines for Brexit negotiations, Minutes
183		22–23 June	Scheduled		Donald Tusk (2nd term)		Website, Annotated agenda, Conclusions
		22 June, evening	Extraordinarywithout UK				Website, Annotated agenda, Decision by Heads of State and Government: Procedure leading up to a decision on the relocation of the EMA and the EBA in the context of the UK's withdrawal from the Union
184		19–20 October	Scheduled	Estonia			Website, Conclusions
		20 October	Extraordinarywithout UK				Website
185		17 November	Informal				Website
186		14–15 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
		15 December	Euro Summit				Website, Presidential Remarks
		15 December	Extraordinarywithout UK				Outcome: guidelines for Brexit negotiations
187	2018	22–23 March	Scheduled	Bulgaria			Website, Conclusions
		23 March	Scheduledwithout UK				Website
		23 March	Euro Summit				Website
188		28–29 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
		29 June	Extraordinarywithout UK				Conclusions
		29 June	Euro Summit				Website, Statement
189		19–20 September	Informal	Austria			Website
		20 September	Informalwithout UK				Website
190		17 October	Extraordinarywithout UK				Website
		18 October, a.m.	Scheduled				Website
		18 October, p.m.	Euro Summit				Website
191		13–14 December	Scheduled				Website
		13 December	Extraordinarywithout UK				Website
		14 December	Euro Summit				Website, Statement
192	2019	21 March	Extraordinarywithout UK	Romania			Website, European Council Decision (EU) 2019/476 taken in agreement with the United Kingdom of 22 March 2019 extending the period under Article 50(3) TEU, Conclusions
		22 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
193		10 April	Extraordinarywithout UK				Website, European Council Decision (EU) 2019/584 taken in agreement with the United Kingdom of 11 April 2019 extending the period under Article 50(3) TEU, Conclusions
194		9 May	Informal				Website
195		28 May	Informal				Website
196		20 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
		21 June	Euro Summit				Website, Statement
		21 June	Extraordinarywithout UK				Website (see heading "Brexit")
197		30 June–2 July	Extraordinary	Romania & Finland			Website, Conclusions (nominations for President of the European Council, President of the Commission, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and President of the European Central Bank)
198		17 October	Extraordinarywithout UK	Finland			Website, Conclusions
		17–18 October	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
199		12–13 December	Scheduled		Charles Michel	Ursula von der Leyen (1st term)	Website, Conclusions
		13 December	Euro Summit				Website, Statement
		13 December	Extraordinarywithout UK				Website, Conclusions

2020s

#	Year	Date	Type	EU Council presidency	Council President	Commission President	Agenda, Conclusions, Declarations, Statements
200	2020	20–21 February	Extraordinary	Croatia	Charles Michel	Ursula von der Leyen (1st term)	Website
201		10 March	Extraordinary (Informal video conference)				Website
202		17 March	Extraordinary (Informal video conference)				Website
203		26 March	Informal (informal video conference - replacing scheduled meeting)				Website, Statement
204		23 April	Extraordinary (Informal video conference)				Website
205		19 June	Informal (informal video conference - replacing scheduled meeting)				Website
206		17–21 July	Extraordinary	Germany			Website, Conclusions
207		19 August	Extraordinary (Informal video conference)				Website
208		1–2 October	Extraordinary				Website, Conclusions
209		15–16 October	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
210		29 October	Extraordinary (Informal video conference)				Website
211		19 November	Extraordinary (Informal video conference)				Website
212		10–11 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
―		11 December	Euro summit				Website, Statement
213	2021	21 January	Extraordinary (Informal video conference)	Portugal			Website
214		25–26 February	Extraordinary (Informal video conference)				Website, Statement
―		25 March	Euro summit (Informal video conference)				Website, Statement
215		25–26 March	Informal (Informal video conference - replacing scheduled meeting)				Website, Statement
―		7 May	Tripartite Social Summit				Website, Statement
216		7–8 May	Informal				Website, Declaration
217		24–25 May	Extraordinary				Website, Conclusions
218		24–25 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
―		25 June	Euro summit				Website, Statement
219		5 October	Informal	Slovenia			Website
―		20 October	Tripartite Social Summit				Website, Main Messages
220		21–22 October	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
221		16 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
―		16 December	Euro summit				Website, Statement
222	2022	17 February	Informal	France			Website
223		24 February	Extraordinary				Website, Conclusions
224		10–11 March	Informal				Website, Declaration
―		23 March	Tripartite Social Summit				Website, Main messages
225		24–25 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
226		30–31 May	Extraordinary				Website, Conclusions
227		23–24 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
―		24 June	Euro summit				Website, Statement
228		7 October	Informal	Czech Republic			Website, Remarks
―		19 October	Tripartite Social Summit				Website, Main messages
229		20–21 October	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
230		15 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
231	2023	9 February	Extraordinary	Sweden			Website, Conclusions
―		22 March	Tripartite Social Summit				Website, Main Messages
232		23 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
―		24 March	Euro summit				Website, Statement
233		29–30 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
234		6 October	Informal	Spain			Website, Declaration
235		17 October	Extraordinary (video conference)				Website, Statement
―		25 October	Tripartite Social Summit				Website, Main Messages
236		26–27 October	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
―		27 October	Euro summit				Website, Statement
237		14–15 December	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
238	2024	1 February	Extraordinary	Belgium			Website, Conclusions
―		20 March	Tripartite Social Summit				Website, Main Messages
239		21–22 March	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
―		22 March	Euro summit				Website, Statement
240		17–18 April	Extraordinary				Website, Conclusions
241		17 June	Informal				Website
242		27 June	Scheduled				Website, Conclusions
243		17 October	Scheduled	Hungary			Website, Conclusions
244		7–8 November	Informal				Website, Declaration
245		19–20 December	Scheduled		António Costa	Ursula von der Leyen (2nd term)	Website
246	2025	20–21 March	Scheduled	Poland
247		26–27 June	Scheduled
248		23–24 October	Scheduled	Denmark
249		18–19 December	Scheduled

  Upcoming meetings

• External link for upcoming meetings

Notable details

Cologne 1999

See also: Saint-Malo declaration

The European Council met in Cologne, Germany, on 3–4 June 1999 to consider issues after the Treaty of Amsterdam came into force. Romano Prodi presented his plan for the future Commission's work and reform program. The Council called for an EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Council designated Javier Solana for the post of Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union (with Pierre de Boissieu as his deputy) and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It decided on a common policy on Russia (first use of the CFSP). Adopted the declaration on Kosovo. In relation to the European Security and Defence Policy, a major element of the CFSP, the council declared that the EU "must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises without prejudice to actions by NATO".

Gothenburg 2001

See also: 27th G8 summit and Terrorists: The Kids They Sentenced

The 2001 meeting of the European Council was held in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, from 14 to 16 June. The EU Summit focused upon EU enlargement, sustainable development, economic growth and structural reform issues. The EU–US summit included a visit by U.S. president George W. Bush on 14 June. It was the first U.S. presidential visit to Sweden, and was intended as an opportunity to discuss differences on climate negotiations, WTO and Middle East issues with the EU leaders. It was marred by extensive demonstrations. The main protests were organised by three broad coalitions, a local coalition Bush Go home that opposed U.S. foreign policy, a Sweden-based coalition Network Gothenburg 2001 which opposed Swedish membership in the EU and EMU and an international coalition Gothenburg Action 2001, a proponent of "another Europe", opponent of EU militarisation, the Schengen Agreement, and defending the public sector and the environment from becoming trade commodities and EMU. There was also a broad Iranian and a smaller anti-capitalist coalition as well as non-violent networks and Reclaim the Streets organising demonstrations and a street party. According to the police, more than 50,000 demonstrators gathered in Gothenburg during the three days of the summit, among them a smaller number with foreign nationality. The demonstrating organisations arranged many conferences, the biggest conference (besides, of course, the EU summit itself) being Fritt forum (Free Forum) which hosted 50 lectures and seminars and was funded by the city of Gothenburg, the Swedish justice department and Sweden's foreign ministry department among others. The summit was guarded by approximately 2500 police officers. Besides a number of encounters and skirmishes there were a number of riots. The first one occurred on 14 June after the police had surrounded and enclosed the Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet where demonstrators had been invited by the city to stay during the summit. The second occurred in the morning of 15 June in conjunction with a demonstration of 2000 participants organised by the anti-capitalist organisation, and it resulted in violent clashes with the police and damage of Gothenburg's main street Kungsportsavenyn. Later in the evening during the Reclaim the City demonstration, a police unit came under attack by demonstrators throwing projectiles. The police subsequently fired shots at the demonstrators. Three persons were injured by gunshots, one of whom was seriously injured. This was the first use of firearms against Swedish demonstrators since the Ådalen shootings in 1931. The riots were followed by prison sentences for 64 persons convicted of criminal behaviour. In total demonstrators were sent to prison for almost 50 years. As of 2006, no police officer has been convicted of wrongdoing during the summit. One officer was tried and convicted for committing perjury during a trial against a Gothenburg demonstrator. The riots left large areas of central Gothenburg demolished due to the violent protests of the demonstrators, as well as leaving many stores looted.

File:Bush Persson Prodi.jpg

Göran Persson (in the middle) with George W. Bush and Romano Prodi in Gothenburg, 14 June 2001.

The summit meeting of the European Union was notable because heads of states from the EU gathered in Gothenburg, and also because the American President George W. Bush visited Sweden for the first time on the day before the summit meeting. As a reaction to this, protesters from all over the world planned to gather in Gothenburg to demonstrate under different banners. The City of Gothenburg assisted the out-of-town protesters by providing living quarters in different schools around Gothenburg and a convergence center, first at Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet and later moved to Schillerska Gymnasiet. The political background to the protests was a conjuncture of three forces. EU-criticism and opposition to membership in the EU was stronger in Sweden than anywhere else in the union. Secondly a wave of globalisation protests against neoliberalism had gained momentum after the protests during the EU Summit in Amsterdam 1997 and the WTO meeting in Seattle 1999. Anti-war and environmental concerns against the U.S. was a third factor. The police planned and gathered their forces in anticipation of the meeting. Never before had this many heads of state met in Sweden, and thousands of police were to stand guard in Gothenburg to keep order during these three days of June 2001. The police had long prepared for disturbances and also had many different intelligence services directed at the groups participating in the planning of demonstrations. There were differing opinions amongst the police forces involved. The security police did not want the Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet to be used as they felt it was too close to the EU Summit while the Gothenburg police insisted on having the demonstrators there. American police tactics against protesters were in use such as a psycho-tactic unit that was supposed to have a dialogue with demonstrating organisations. The police, the local authority and the different demonstration coalitions had arranged a dialogue group where they planned and discussed the demonstrations to ensure they would be as peaceful as possible. The officers in command of the action stated that they were very pleased with how the police had served during the summit (an opinion which at the time was shared by the government). It was claimed that the police successfully had used advance information about demonstrators and undercover police officers among the demonstrators to among other things find out about the "secret" information central. According to the police, they acted completely in accordance with the Police Law. The Swedish Police Union strongly criticised the way the police actions had been led and managed. In its report "Chaos" – regarding the Command in Gothenburg in June 2001 it is stated that a majority of the police who were on duty during the time felt they did not have enough resources to carry out their duties in a proper manner and that orders were confusing. Statistics:

• Crimes reported: 3,143 (as of February 2002)
• Detained (gripna) for criminal actions: 554
• Detained (omhändertagna) by the police (including following two listings): 575
  • Detained (omhändertagna) by the police in the power of §13 of the police law (aka PL13): 387
  • Detained (omhändertagna) by the police in the power of §11 of the police law (aka PL11): 188
• Arrested (anhållna): 107
• Detained while pending trial (häktade): 59
• Number of verdicts: 38
• Number of "EU-related" (i.e. related to events during the EU-summit) persons injured (treated by hospitals in the region of Västra Götaland): 143
  • Police: 53
  • Demonstrators: 90

The total sum of the sentences following the riots during the EU summit was roughly 50 years in prison, which according to the journalist Erik Wijk is 12 times more than earlier riots. No police were convicted despite a large number of complaints. One of the most noticed cases is the so-called information central, which was stormed by Nationella insatsstyrkan during the first day of the summit. A total of eight persons (five men, three women) were sentenced to long prison sentences after having sent out text messages urging people to go to Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet in connection with the police shutdown of the school. The police officer in charge for the EU summit, Håkan Jaldung, was accused in a trial of preventing about 100 people at the Schillerska from leaving the place for several hours, but was found innocent. Göteborgsaktionen ("The Gothenburg Action") involved 87 organisations out of whom 33 were Swedish, 22 Danish, 9 Finnish, 5 Norwegian, 4 European and some other mainly from different Eastern European countries. Nätverket Göteborg ("The Gothenburg Network") involved over 20 organisations.

Laeken 2001

The Laeken European Council was held at the royal palace at Laeken, Belgium, on 14–15 December 2001. The Laeken European Council dealt with:

• New measures in the area of Justice and Home Affairs: the European arrest warrant, a common definition of "terrorism", and EUROJUST
• The seats of ten new EU agencies (after hours of disagreement, the European Council failed to reach an agreement and decided to leave the decision until next year)
• Impending introduction of Euro cash (the European Council met with the Finance ministers to consider this)
• Progress of EU enlargement
• The adoption of the Laeken Declaration on the Future of Europe

The Laeken Declaration on the Future of Europe established the European Convention, presided over with former President of France, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, as President of the convention, and former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato and former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene as Vice-Presidents. The convention was tasked with drafting the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, and would have about 60 members, drawn from national governments, national parliamentarians, the European Parliament, and the European Commission, and include representatives from the candidate countries. The declaration reviews the progress of European integration over the last fifty years, tracing it back to its origins in the horrors of World War II, and poses a number of questions to be answered by the convention.

See also

• Euro summit
• President of the European Council
• 1955 Messina Conference
• 1983 Solemn Declaration on European Union
• 1992 Edinburgh Agreement

External links

• European Council official homepage
• Council meeting conclusions (2004-today) – European Council official homepage
• 50 years of summit meetings – history of European Council meetings (1961–2010) – General Secretariat of the Council of the EU
• The European Council in 2010 – annual presidential summary report of the European Council meeting activities
• The European Council in 2011 – annual presidential summary report of the European Council meeting activities
• The European Council in 2012 – annual presidential summary report of the European Council meeting activities
• The European Council in 2013 – annual presidential summary report of the European Council meeting activities
• The European Council in 2014 – annual presidential summary report of the European Council meeting activities
• List of European Councils (1961–2014) – European NAvigator