There are a number of presidencies in the EU, notably the Council of Ministers and European Council presidency, the Commission presidency, the European Parliament presidency, and the European Court of Justice presidency. Of these, the Council of Ministers and Commission presidencies are most prominent and, arguably, the most important. However, the term EU presidency or simply presidency usually refers to the Council presidency. The Council presidency rotates every six months, although no longer in alphabetical order. The 1998-2002 rota is follows: The UK; Austria; Germany; Finland, second semester 1999; Portugal ...