EU Council Presidency France 2008

Inscription: „2008 PRÉSIDENCE FRANÇAISE UNION EUROPÉENNE RF". The mint mark and the chief engraver's mark are engraved at the bottom right and bottom left, respectively.

On behalf of the European Commission, 5,000 examples (circulation coins) had their obverse fully colored yellow and were distributed to EU staff in numbered blister packs.

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates every six months among the member states - an office with no formal executive power, yet with considerable influence over the agenda and pace of European legislation. In the first half of 2008, France, under President Nicolas Sarkozy, took over the Council presidency and used the position with notable energy. Paris set priorities in immigration policy, the climate package, and the reform of European defence policy. The high point was France's mediating role in the August war between Russia and Georgia: Sarkozy negotiated a ceasefire within a matter of days - a rare example of direct European crisis diplomacy.

France is a founding member of the European Communities and was, from the outset, one of the driving forces of European integration. The idea of close Franco-German cooperation as the core of the project dates back to the post-war period and continues to shape France's EU policy to this day. The 2008 presidency fell into a turbulent phase: the global financial crisis broke out that same autumn, and France coordinated the European response among the G20 states. At the conclusion of its Council presidency, France issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2008 documenting this period.