| Description : On the 1st of July, Spain will take over the rotating
presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months. During this time, further rounds of sanctions against
Russia are on the agenda, as well as important environmental and climate legislation and, above all, new rules for dealing
with refugees. There is little room for manoeuvre, because when Belgium takes over the Council Presidency in January, the
countdown to the European elections in June 2024 has already begun. Spain, however, could now be temporarily unable to
act, because Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, after the disastrous election results of his socialist party
PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español / Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) in the local and regional elections,
surprisingly announced on the 29th of May the dissolution of parliament and new elections, which will now take
place on the 23rd of July. The coin shows the two‐line logo of the Spanish Presidency, "UE 23" with the
acronym for Unión Europea (European Union), framed in a circle by the inscription: "ESPAÑA
2023‐PRESIDENCIA ESPAÑOLA" (Spain 2023‐Spanish Presidency) and "CONSEJO DE LA UNIÓN EUROPEA"
(Council of the European Union). Below is a crowned "M" as the mintmark of the Spanish mint Real Casa de la Moneda
in Madrid. |
