Spain held the presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 2023.

[1] On the first day of the presidency, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez took the train to Kyiv in a highly symbolic visit, where he met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and addressed the Verkhovna Rada.

[3][4][5][a] During the visit, Sánchez stated that one of the priorities of the Spanish presidency would be working with Ukraine in its bid to accede to the European Union.

[8] The meeting of the College of Commissioners that traditionally inaugurates the rotating presidency took place at the Royal Collections Gallery in Madrid on 3 July 2023.

[12] An informal meeting of the European Council took place at the same venue in Granada the following day, on 6 October.