After 10 years, Luxembourg took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 July 2015 till 31 December 2015.  It is the first time Luxembourg is taking over the Presidency of the Council of the EU under the auspices of the Lisbon Treaty which has given new competences to the Union and established a new institutional balance.

The Luxembourg Presidency has outlined three fundamental principles:

• Listening to the citizens;

• Supporting businesses;

• Cooperating with partners and institutions in order to act in the interests of Europe.

Updating the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Regulation, on the basis of the proposal submitted by the European Commission, will enable better interinstitutional cooperation which should ensure the quality of legislation that takes the interests and needs of citizens better into account. The Luxembourg Presidency will therefore seek to progress in the negotiations of this agreement.

The programme of the Luxembourg Presidency is placed within the framework of the implementation of the Strategic Agenda for the Union adopted by the European Council on 26 and 27 June 2014 which outlines the key priorities for the EU over the next five years. The programme takes also into account the policy orientations of the President of the Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, the annual work programme of the Commission and the work of the 'Trio' Presidency made up of Italy, Latvia and Luxembourg.

The priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency are based on seven pillars:

• Stimulating investment to boost growth and employment;

• Deepening EU's social dimension;

• Managing migration, combining freedom, justice and security;

• Revitalising the single market by focusing on its digital dimension;

• Placing European competitiveness in a global and transparent framework;

• Promoting sustainable development;

• Strengthening EU’s presence on the global stage.

The Luxembourg Presidency explicitly refers to Turkey’s negotiations process within the framework of the agenda of other Candidate States’ negotiations process. In this regard, the Luxembourg Presidency stresses that it will encourage new negotiation chapters to be opened with Turkey, Serbia and Montenegro once the necessary conditions have been fulfilled in that respect.

Luxembourg has been among the countries that have actively supported Turkey’s EU membership.  In 2013, Grand Duke Henri paid a state visit to Turkey and he noted in his speech that Luxembourg supports taking further steps on Turkey–EU relations and fostering bilateral relations. Furthermore, in 2014, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn declared that his government is supportive of Turkey’s accession process and that Luxembourg will take the necessary steps during their term presidency in that respect.  In November 2014, Jean Asselborn made a statement where he indicated that his government is seeking to open three chapters within the framework of the negotiations process. He further emphasised that during the Luxembourg Presidency, they will strive to open new chapters to negotiations with Turkey.  Moreover, it can be added that is likely that Turkey’s role as regards migration and energy issues and the ongoing economic crisis will be further taken on board during the Luxembourg Presidency.