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 in the presidency, Denmark has strong credentials as a security power, and takes over the rotating presidency at a key moment when the foundations of robust European security and defence need to be built. The key challenge will be to manage transatlantic tensions, including as regards Greenland, while strengthening the EU’s capacity to act. Trade, too, is heavily challenged by those tensions, while in other areas, several clusters of accession negotiation chapters should be opened with Ukraine and Moldova, and deliberations will start in the Council on the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) legislation.
With new uncertainties adding to the panoply of global challenges faced by a European Union (EU) increasingly in need of geostrategic capacity, the Danish presidency comes at a crucial juncture in European affairs.
To discuss the aims and priorities of the incoming Danish presidency, as well as the crucial policy areas that need attention in the EU, the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) and the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) co-organised “Europe in Action: Building Security Together”, the Danish Pre-Presidency Conference (PPC).
The Danish PPC took place in Copenhagen on 22-23 May 2025, with key panels being streamed online. Policy-makers, academics, and key stakeholders from the wider public engaged with high-level panel discussions between researchers and key figures from the Danish government.
On the occasion of the Danish PPC, recommendations from members of the TEPSA network to the incoming Danish presidency were presented. The TEPSA recommendations for part of a long history of interaction between the TEPSA network and rotating presidencies, starting from the first PPC. The recommendations to the Danish presidency can be found here.
This PPC focused on a number of interrelated thematic areas, including security, defence, and the war in Ukraine, the state-of-play of the EU enlargement files, Europe’s place on the world stage, maritime security, trade and competitiveness, and energy transition.
Catch up on key sessions from the Danish PPC
The Danish PPC was livestreamed and video recordings of key panels are published on TEPSA’s YouTube channel. Catch up on the discussions that you may have missed below, and be sure to head over to our channel and subscribe so you don’t miss out on future videos!
This session represents the formal presentation of the Recommendations from members of the TEPSA network to the incoming Danish presidency of the Council of the European Union, in a speech made by Richard Youngs (Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe & TEPSA Board Member).
This session is a keynote speech to the Danish Pre-Presidency Conference by Danish Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre.
This session is a virtual address to the Danish Pre-Presidency Conference by Oleksandr Ilkov, Director-General at Ukraine’s Government Office for Coordination on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
This panel includes key interventions from: Ian Bond, Deputy Director, Centre for European Reform; Svitlana Chekunova, Leading Expert, Energy Programmes, Razumkov Centre; Christine Nissen, Chief Analyst, Think Tank EUROPA (Moderator).
This panel includes key interventions from: Saskia Hollander, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute; Danijela Jaćimović, Full Professor, University of Montenegro & TEPSA Board Member; Kristi Raik, Director, International Centre for Defence and Security & TEPSA Board Member; Cecilie Felicia Stokholm Banke, Head of Unit, Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, DIIS (Moderator).
This panel includes key interventions from: Amb. Birgitte Markussen, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Senem Aydin-Düzgit, Professor, Sabanci University; Amandine Sabourin, Policy Analyst, ECDPM; Sarah Kristine Poppelkvist, PhD Student, DIIS (Moderator).
This panel includes key interventions from: Svend Roed Nielsen, Senior Adviser, Think Tank EUROPA; Seamus Allen, Researcher, Institute of International and European Affairs; Luke Patey, Senior Researcher, DIIS (Moderator).
This Pre-Presidency Conference was co-organised by TEPSA and DIIS, in cooperation with Think Tank EUROPA. An evening event “The Weimar Triangle and European Security” was hosted on the first day in cooperation with the Embassy of France, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland.
