It was originally intended for the United Kingdom to hold the presidency from 1 July to 31 December 2017, but after a referendum in June 2016 to leave the EU, the UK government informed the European Union that it would abandon its presidency for late 2017 and was replaced instead by Estonia.
Storbritannien skulle oprindeligt have formandskabet fra 1. juli til 31. december 2017, men efter folkeafstemningen om at forlade EU i juni 2016 valgte den britiske regering at informere EU, at de ville opgive formandskabet for 2017 og blev i stedet erstattet af Estland.