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v t e

There is no official title ofPresident of the European Union (orPresident of Europe), but there are a number of presidents ofEuropean Union institutions, including:

• thePresident of the European Council (since 1 December 2024,António Costa)
• thePresident of the European Commission (since 1 December 2019,Ursula von der Leyen)
• thePresident of the European Parliament (since 11 January 2022,Roberta Metsola)

Alongside these theCouncil of the European Union (also known as the Council of Ministers or simply "the Council") containing 27 national ministers, one of each nation, rotates its presidency by country. This presidency is held by a country, not a person; meetings are chaired by the minister from the country holding the presidency (depending on the topic, or "configuration"), except for the Foreign Affairs Council (one so-called "configuration" of the Council of the EU), which is usually chaired by theHigh Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.^[1] ThePresidency of the Council of the European Union has been held byDenmark since 1 July 2025.

According to protocol, it is the President of the Parliament who comes first, as it is listed first in the treaties.^[2] However, on the world stage, the principal representative of the EU is considered to be the President of the European Council,^[3] but the President of the European Commission, as head of theexecutive branch of the European Union, takes part in theG7 and other international summits as well.^[1]

All four offices have been described in the media as the President of Europe, but none are analogous to the head in apresidential system (who is bothhead of state andhead of government). Comparisons with other political system have attempted to explain the complex nature of the European institutions. As each institution has its own leader, it has been suggested that the terms "Speaker" of the European Parliament, "Governor" of the European Central Bank, "President" of the Council of the European Union, "Chairman" of the European Council and "Prime Commissioner" of the European Commission would give a clearer indication of their respective roles.^[4]

During the height of the Commission President's powers in the late-1980s and 1990s, the Commission President was sometimes described in the media as "the Union's Prime Minister".^[5][6] Use of the term "President" in this sense is not unusual in Europe; for comparison, the title for thePrime Minister of Spain inSpanish is thePresidente del Gobierno ("President of the Government"), not Prime Minister.^[7][8]

The Presidents of each institution are chosen in a slightly different way;

• The President of the European Parliament is elected from amongMEPs for a 2.5-year, renewable term.^[1]
• The President of the European Council is elected by the heads of state/government of the 27 EU member states for a 2.5-year, once renewable term.^[1]
• The President of the European Commission is officially proposed by the European Council, taking into account thelatest European Parliament elections and subsequently elected by the European Parliament for a 5-year, renewable term.^[1] A stronger direct link between elections and the President was attempted in the form of thespitzenkandidat process, although in 2019 the European Council rejected the Spitzenkandidat of the leading party, and instead nominated their own candidate from the same party.^[9]

Whilst distinct, each president is required to closely co-operate with one another in a complex political system.^{[citation needed]} Under theordinary legislative procedure of the European Union, theCommission proposes legislation with theParliament andCouncil of the European Union coming to a co-decision on amendments and adoption of the law. The president of each of these organs is generally held responsible their functioning and direction.^{[citation needed]}

The president of theEuropean Council is considered the principal representative of the EU internationally and diplomatically.^[3] They are required to lead the council, which works to set the EU's general political direction and promote compromise and consensus within the council. They are appointed by the appropriate national leaders in the European Council.^[1]

Prior to theTreaty of Lisbon, each member state in turn took the responsibilities of both the Presidency of the European Council and the Presidency of theCouncil of the European Union, with the representative to the European Council of the respective member state currently occupying the Presidency of the Council of the EU chairing meetings of the European Council. However, the title and office "President of the European Council" or any analogous position, did not exist prior to the Treaty of Lisbon. The misleading shorthand tag "EU Presidency" is still used by press today to refer to the member state holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The president of theEuropean Commission leads the commission, the executive and cabinet of the European Union, and is therefore considered as the most powerful position within theEU. The president, as part of this institution, is responsible for the political direction, logistics and implementation of European law and held accountable to both the European Parliament and Council of the European Union.^[1]

The role gives the holder the right to allocate portfolios to, dismiss and reshuffleEuropean Commissioners and direct the commission's civil service. The president is nominated by the European Council and appointed by the European Parliament.^[1] It is customary that the European Council uses the result of the lastEuropean elections to guide their nomination. The Commission President also delivers annualState of the Union address to theEuropean Parliament.

The president of theEuropean Parliament ensures proper parliamentary procedure is followed and is responsible for representing the Parliament in both legal and diplomatic settings. The president must also give final assent to the EU budget.^[1]

Principal leaders of theEuropean Union

• 
  António Costa
  PES–PT
  President of the European Council
  (since 1 December 2024)
• 
  Ursula von der Leyen
  EPP–DE
  President of the European Commission
  (since 1 December 2019)
• 
  Roberta Metsola
  EPP–MT
  President of the European Parliament
  (since 11 January 2022)

• List of presidents of the institutions of the European Union
• Presidency of the Council of the European Union

• Nedergaard, Peter; Jensen, Mads Dagnis (September 2014). "Uno, duo, trio? Varieties of trio presidencies in the Council of Ministers".Journal of Common Market Studies.52 (5):1035–1052.doi:10.1111/jcms.12130.S2CID 154961315.

• EU website – European Union Presidents

• Political offices of the European Union

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from June 2020
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017