One of the three great divisions of British India, the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay Presidencies, each of which had a council of which its governor was president.
EU Member States take turns to hold the EU's Presidency for six months. The Presidency State chairs the European Council and the Council of Ministers. See paragraphs 58-61.
The presidency of the Council of Ministers rotates every six months between the EU member states. Denmark was president between July and December 2002. Greece is president between January and June 2003.
This is in effect the chairmanship of the European Union. The Presidency chairs all Working Groups, COREPER and Council meetings and is important in setting the Union's agenda and working towards an agreement. The Presidency is held for a six month period (The UK will hold the Presidency from the 1st July 2005 until the 31st December 2005) - the constitution will replace this with a permanent Chair of the European Council and chairs for each of the other sectoral Councils (Article I-23).
each member state takes it in turn for six months at a time to be responsible for chairing meetings of the Council of Ministers. The constitution would replace this with a permanent Chair of the European Council and chairs for each of the other sectoral Councils (Article I-23).