Pre-Presidency Conferences

The Pre-Presidency Conferences (PPCs) are TEPSA’s flagship activity. They take place twice a year in the capital of the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU prior to the beginning of its mandate.

The main aim of TEPSA’s Pre-Presidency Conferences is to bring together academics and researchers from the broad TEPSA network, policy-makers, media and civil society in order to discuss the agenda and challenges of the upcoming Council Presidencies. TEPSA Pre-Presidency Conferences constitute a major platform for communication and exchange between policy-makers and academia.

Prior to the event, TEPSA researchers formulate recommendations to be presented to high-level officials of the government concerned in a plenary session. The conferences actively involve civil society and media actors, who are able to interact with practitioners and academics. Finally, the insights gained during these conferences and seminars directly feed into future research on the EU and into EU policy making.

Learn about the latest PPC

The latest Pre-Presidency Conference took place in Nicosia on 30-31 October 2025 to preview the Cypriot Council Presidency. Learn more about the event by clicking the button below.

Thanks to their genuinely European and transnational nature and to the involvement of civil society, TEPSA’s Pre-Presidency conferences actively contribute to shaping a European public sphere.

Most Recent Editions

“Reshaping Europe in an age of uncertainty” | Cypriot Pre-Presidency Conference | Nicosia, 30-31 October 2025

On 1 January 2026, Cyprus will succeed Denmark in holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Faced with the continuous threat of democratic backsliding ac...

“Europe in Action: Building Security Together” | Danish Pre-Presidency Conference

On 1 July 2025, Denmark will take over the reins of the Council of the European Union, holding the rotating presidency for the eighth time. Like Poland, which precedes it i...

“Securing Europe’s Future” | Polish Pre-Presidency Conference

On 1 January 2025, Poland will take over the reins of the Council of the European Union, holding the Rotating Presidency for the second time since its accession to the Europea...

Hungarian Pre-Presidency Conference, Budapest, 13-14 June 2024

On 1 July 2024, Hungary will take over the reins of the Council of the European Union, holding the Rotating Presidency for the second time since its accession to the European ...

Belgian Pre-Presidency Conference, Brussels, 23-24 November 2023

On January 1, Belgium will come to hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. For the following six months, it will hold a position with which the...

Spanish Pre-Presidency Conference, Madrid, 1-2 June 2023

On July 1, Sweden handed over the Rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union to Spain, which will hold its reins for the fifth time since its accession to the th...

Swedish Pre-Presidency Conference, Stockholm, 1-2 December 2022

On 1 January 2023, Czechia will hand over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union to Sweden, which holds its reigns once again, for the third time following previo...

Czech Pre-Presidency Conference, Prague, 23-24 May 2022

On 1 July 2022, France handed over the Presidency of the Council of the EU to Czechia, which holds its reigns once again, for the second time since becoming an EU Member State...

French Pre-Presidency Conference, Paris, 9-10 December 2021

On 1 January 2022, Slovenia will hand over the Presidency of the Council of the EU to France, which will hold its reigns once again, as it has done on multiple occasions since...

Slovenian Pre-Presidency Conference, Online, 17-18 June 2021

On 1 July 2021, Portugal will hand over the Presidency of the Council of the EU to Slovenia, which will hold its reigns for the second time since its accession to the EU in 20...

German Pre-Presidency Conference, Online, 25-26 June 2020

TEPSA and its German member, Institut fĂĽr Europäische Politik (IEP), organised the German EU Pre-Presidency Conference “Shaping the Future of Europe” on 25-26 J...

Portuguese Pre-Presidency Conference, Online, 26-27 November 2020

TEPSA and its Portuguese member, Portuguese Institute of International Relations (IPRI), organised the Portuguese Pre-Presidency Conference on 26-27 November&nb...

Croatian Presidency Conference, Zagreb, 28-29 November 2019

TEPSA and its Croatian member, the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), organised the Croatian EU Pre-Presidency Conference “Europe at a Crossroads” o...

Finnish Pre-Presidency Conference, Helsinki, 6-7 June 2019

TEPSA and its Finnish member the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) organised the TEPSA 2019 Finnish Pre-Presidency Conference on 6-7 June 2019. Finland wil...

Romanian Pre-Presidency Conference, Bucharest, 22-23 November 2018

On the occasion of the Romanian EU Council Presidency starting on January 1st 2019, TEPSA held its traditional Pre-Presidency Conference in Bucharest, Romania, on Th...

Austrian Pre-Presidency Conference, Vienna, 7-8 June 2018

On 7-8 June 2018, TEPSA and its Austrian member, the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), organised TEPSA’s traditional Pre-Presidency Conference (PPC) in Vienna, Austria, ah...

Bulgarian Pre-Presidency Conference, Sofia, 30 November-1 December 2017

On the occasion of the Bulgarian EU Council Presidency starting on January 1st 2018, TEPSA held its traditional Pre-Presidency Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria on Thursday 30 Nov...

Estonian Pre-Presidency Conference, Tallinn, 15-16 June 2017

On the occasion of the Estonian EU Council Presidency starting on July 1st 2017, TEPSA held its traditional Pre-Presidency Conference in Tallinn, Estonia on Thursday 15 and Fr...

Maltese Pre-Presidency Conference, Valletta, 10-11 November 2016

On the occasion of the first Maltese EU Council Presidency starting on January 1st 2017, TEPSA held its traditional Pre-Presidency Conference in Valletta on Thursday 10 a...

Dutch Pre-Presidency Conference, The Hague, November 2015

The Pre-Presidency conference for the upcoming Dutch presidency of the Council of the European Union took place on 19 and 20 November 2015 in The Hague, the Netherlands.&...

Luxembourg Pre-Presidency Conference, Luxembourg, 4-5 June 2015

Founding member of the European communities and seat of European institutions since 1952, Luxembourg has proven its sound European spirit over the last 11 presidencies it assu...

Slovak Pre-Presidency Conference, Bratislava, 2-3 June 2016

On the occasion of the first Slovak EU Council Presidency starting on 1st July 2016, TEPSA in cooperation with the Institute of European Studies and International Re...

Latvian Pre-Presidency Conference, Riga, 4-5 December 2014

 On 4-5 December 2014, LIIA organised the TEPSA Pre-Presidency conference “Moving the Union Forward: Involvement, Growth, Sustainability” in cooperation with the Trans Europea...

Italian Pre-Presidency Conference, Rome, 24-25 March 2014

The TEPSA Pre-Presidency Conference was held in 24 and 25 March in Rome before the 2014 elections to the European Parliament. Growth, employment and immigration t...

Greek Pre-Presidency Conference, Athens, 10-11 October 2013

TEPSA and Greek Centre of European Studies and Research (EKEME) organised a Pre-Presedency Conference in Athens in the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of...

Lithuanian Pre-Presidency Conference, Vilnius, 4-5 July 2013

The TEPSA Lithuanian Pre-Presidency conference was held on July 4th, 2013 in Vilnius. The next day the General Assembly gathering the TEPSA Members took pl...

Irish Pre-Presidency Conference, Dublin, 22-23 November 2012

The Irish Pre-Presidency Conference was organised by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) and took place on 22 – 23 November 2012 in Dublin. The Conferen...

Cypriot Pre-Presidency Conference, Nicosia, 14-15 June 2012

The Cypriot Pre-Presidency Conference took place on 14 and 15 June 2012 at the New Campus of the University of Cyprus in Nicosia. It was organised by KIMEDE (Cyprus Institute ...

Danish Pre-Presidency Conference, Copenhagen, 8-9 December 2011

The Danish Pre-Presidency Conference was organised by the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) in Copenhagen last 8-9 December. The Opening Plenary Session presen...

Polish Pre-Presidency Conference, Warsaw, 30 June-1 July 2011

Last Thursday 30 June and Friday 1 July 2011, the College of Europe Natolin (Warsaw) campus hosted the Pre-Presidency Conference on the “Priorities of the Polish presidency of...

Hungarian Pre-Presidency Conference, Budapest, 2-3 December 2010

Given the incoming Hungarian Council Presidency starting in January 2011, the Institute for World Economics and TEPSA in cooperation with THESEUS organised the Pre-presidency ...

Belgian Pre-Presidency Conference, Brussels, 20-21 May 2010

«Future Prospects for the Belgian Presidency of the EU: Global Challenges in a New Institutional Era» The conference brought together senior scholars and high level practit...

Historic Pre-Presidency Conferences

TEPSA organizes a Pre-Presidency Conference every six months in the country taking over the Presidency of the EU. This contributes to a multidisciplinary, transeuropean and in...