Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Portugal replaced Germany as the country chairing the Council of the European Union, Euronews reports.

The leadership changes hands between the 27 EU states every six months.

The primary responsible task facing Lisbon and Brussels is to carry out mass vaccination against coronavirus infection. The successful completion of vaccinations is expected to have a positive impact on the badly shaken EU economy.

“We must give the people confidence. Confidence in the face of fear. Today, what we are all afraid of is COVID-19, and it is for this reason that vaccination is necessary,” said Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

Also, in the next 6 months, the European Union must settle many of the details of the Brexit agreement reached in the last days of 2020.