Slovakia became the presiding country of the Council of the European Union in 2016. The Slovak commemorative coin commemorates this important milestone.

The Council of the European Union is where the most important decisions are taken. To achieve a balance among EU members, a different country holds the Council presidency every six months. The task of the presiding country is to manage the meetings, set priorities, push forward a key agenda, seek compromises within the European Union and represent it externally. Slovakia was given a unique opportunity in 2016 to set the direction of discussions on EU soil. Its first ever Presidency of the EU Council was in the spirit of an economically strong and globally engaged Europe, a modern single market and a sustainable migration and asylum policy.

The obverse side of the coin, which is the work of academic painter Vladimír Pavlica, is dominated by the Slovak national emblem. The dynamic curves, which symbolise the other EU Member States, converge on a double-armed cross. The composition of the obverse side is supplemented with the year 2016 and the inscription SLOVENSKO – PREDSEDNÍCTVO SR V RADE EÚ (translated as SLOVAKIA - PRESIDENCY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC IN THE EU COUNCIL). The reverse side presents all the elements of a valid coin with a nominal value of €2.

The coin was issued by the National Bank of Slovakia and minted by the Slovak Mint Mincovňa Kremnica.