On 1 July, Germany took over the EU Council Presidency for the second half of 2020. During this time, Germany will represent the EU at international level in many policy areas and will advance decision-making within the EU. The Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) will lead negotiations related to the environment. The BMU’s goal over the next six months is to combine recovery from the crisis with climate action and nature conservation. It is now time for a socially fair and ecologically sound recovery for our economy, in addition to fighting the pandemic.