This article describes the party affiliations of leaders of each member state represented in the European Council during the year 2016. The list below gives the political party that each head of government, or head of state, belongs to at the national level, as well as the European political alliance to which that national party belongs. The states are listed from most to least populous. More populous states have greater influence in the council, in accordance with the qualified majority system.
| Party | 1 January 2016 | 22 January | 28 June | 19 October | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party of European Socialists | 10 | 35.79% | 9 | 34.97% | 8 | 33.85% | 8 | 33.85% | |
| European People's Party | 9 | 34.96% | 9 | 34.96% | 9 | 34.96% | 10 | 35.78% | |
| Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party | 5 | 6.31% | 5 | 6.31% | 6 | 7.43% | 6 | 7.43% | |
| Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists | 2 | 20.25% | 2 | 20.25% | 2 | 20.25% | 2 | 20.25% | |
| Party of the European Left | 1 | 2.12% | 1 | 2.12% | 1 | 2.12% | 1 | 2.12% | |
| Independent | 1 | 0.57% | 2 | 1.39% | 2 | 1.39% | 1 | 0.57% | |
| Member state | [1] | Leader | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 16.11% | Angela Merkel | CDU-EPP | |
| France | 13.07% | François Hollande | PS-PES | |
| United Kingdom | 12.81% | David Cameron | Con-AECR | |
| Italy | 11.89% | Matteo Renzi | PD-PES | |
| Spain | 9.10% | Mariano Rajoy | PP-EPP | |
| Poland | 7.44% | Beata Szydło | PiS-EACR | |
| Romania | 3.87% | Klaus Iohannis | Ind.[2] -EPP | |
| Netherlands | 3.33% | Mark Rutte | VVD-ALDE | |
| Belgium | 2.21% | Charles Michel | MR-ALDE | |
| Greece | 2.12% | Alexis Tsipras | SYRIZA-PEL | |
| Czech Republic | 2.07% | Bohuslav Sobotka | ČSSD-PES | |
| Portugal | 2.03% | António Costa | PS-PES | |
| Sweden | 1.93% | Stefan Löfven | S-PES | |
| Hungary | 1.93% | Viktor Orbán | Fidesz-EPP | |
| Austria | 1.71% | Werner Faymann | SPÖ-PES | |
| Bulgaria | 1.40% | Boyko Borisov | GERB-EPP | |
| Denmark | 1.12% | Helle Thorning-Schmidt | A-PES | |
| Finland | 1.08% | Alexander Stubb | Kok.-EPP | |
| Slovakia | 1.06% | Robert Fico | SMER-SD-PES | |
| Ireland | 0.91% | Enda Kenny | FG-EPP | |
| Croatia | 0.82% | Zoran Milanović | SDP-PES | |
| Lithuania | 0.57% | Dalia Grybauskaitė | Ind. | |
| Slovenia | 0.40% | Miro Cerar | SMC-ALDE | |
| Latvia | 0.39% | Laimdota Straujuma | V-EPP | |
| Estonia | 0.26% | Taavi Rõivas | RE-ALDE | |
| Cyprus | 0.17% | Nicos Anastasiades | DISY-EPP | |
| Luxembourg | 0.11% | Xavier Bettel | DP-ALDE | |
| Malta | 0.09% | Joseph Muscat | PL-EPP | |
| Date | State | Former | Newer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader | Party | Leader | Party | ||||
| 22 January | Croatia | Zoran Milanović | SDP-PES | Tihomir Orešković | Ind. | ||
| 11 February | Latvia | Laimdota Straujuma | V-EPP | Māris Kučinskis | V-EPP | ||
| 17 May | Austria | Werner Faymann | SPÖ-PES | Christian Kern | SPÖ-PES | ||
| 28 June | Denmark | Helle Thorning-Schmidt | A-PES | Lars Løkke Rasmussen | V-ALDE | ||
| 13 July | United Kingdom | David Cameron | Con-AECR | Theresa May | Con-AECR | ||
| 19 October | Croatia | Tihomir Orešković | Ind. | Andrej Plenković | HDZ-EPP | ||
| 23 November | Estonia | Taavi Rõivas | RE-ALDE | Jüri Ratas | K-ALDE | ||
| 12 December | Italy | Matteo Renzi | PD-PES | Paolo Gentiloni | PD-PES | ||