Politics and GovernanceThe Councils

The Councils

The Council of EU /Ministers and European Council are often confused with each other, but are quite different.

The Council of EU

(The Council of Ministers)&

European Council

The CouncilsThe Council of EU / Ministers

consists of national government ministers and shares the

responsibility with the European Parliament for amending

and voting on proposals for new European laws and for

approving the EU budget

European Council

is the meeting place for the heads of government of the

member states, in which they make strategic decisions,

respond to crises, and discuss pressing economic and

foreign policy problems

The Councils They are primarily intergovernmental

Their members are representatives of the members

states

They defend national interest while trying to balance

them with the wider European interest.

The ministers mainly use a system of QMV to make

decisions.

The European Council relies on consensus, informality

and flexibility.

How the Councils EvolvedThe Council of the European Union, more usually known as the

Council of Ministers or just ‘the Council’, traces its roots back to the

Special Council of Ministers that was part of the ECSC.

was designed to be a link between the High Authority and national

governments, and to balance the supranational character of the High

Authority.

Separate Councils of Ministers were created for the EEC and Euratom

in 1958, and national interests moved to the fore as the balance of

power shifted from the three Commissions to the three Councils.

Under the Merger treaty, the three councils were combined in 1967

into a single Council of Ministers

Even so, just how far today’s Council of Ministers is intergovernmental or

supranational remains a matter of debate.

How the Councils EvolvedEuropean Council

The broader strategic interests of the Community were discussed in ad hoc summits of leaders of

the member states held in 1961 (Paris and Bonn), 1967 (Rome), and 1969 (the Hague), all at the

instigation of France and all to address various crises.

However the intergovernmental struggles within the Council of Ministers and the inability of the

Community to respond quickly and effectively to major international crises led to an agreement at

a Copenhagen summit in December 1973, to arrange more frequent meetings among Community

heads of government.

At a summit in Paris in 1974 it was agreed to create a new forum and at the close of the 1974

meeting, French president Giscard d’Estaing announced that ‘the European summit is dead,

long live the European Council’

The new body met for the first time as the European Council in Dublin in March 1975, and

then triannually until 1985, then biannually (with additional special meetings as needed) until

the Treaty of Lisbon, since when it has been committed to four annual meetings.

Since 2003 all routine European Council meetings have been held in Brussels.

The European Council was finally given formal recognition as an EU institution with the

passage of Lisbon in 2009.

How the Council of Ministers is structuredStructure of the Council of Ministers

The quasi-legislative arm of the EU

Headquartered in Brussels

Member states take turns, in a pre-agreed rotation, at chairing all Council

meetings except Foreign Affairs, which is chaired by the High Representative

for Foreign Affairs

Consists of the relevant national government ministers of the member states,

membership changing according to the policy area under consideration

Most negotiations within the Council take place in the Committee of Permanent

Representatives, made up of representatives from the member states

Work supported by a General Secretariat

Intergovernmental and confederal in character, but with supranational aspects

How the Council of Ministers is structuredThe Council of the Ministers, has five main components:

the councils themselves

the presidency of the Council

the Committee of Permanent Representatives

committees and working groups

the General Secretariat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-

cRJr7mWw4&list=PL5C4CCC72BB6EA2C9&feature=share&

index=7

How the Council of Ministers is structuredThe Council of the Ministers, has five main components:

the councils themselves

the presidency of the Council

the Committee of Permanent Representatives

committees and working groups

the General Secretariat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-

cRJr7mWw4&list=PL5C4CCC72BB6EA2C9&feature=share&

index=7

How the Council of Ministers is structuredThe Councils

These consist of the relevant national government

ministers of the member states, membership changing

according to the policy area under consideration.

There are ten Council ‘configurations’ (including

agriculture and fisheries, economic and financial affairs,

environment, and foreign affairs).

Member states holding the presidency take turns, in pre-

agreed rotations, in chairing all Council meetings except

Foreign Affairs

How the Council of Ministers is structuredThe Councils

The different groups of ministers that make up the Council are

known either as technical councils, formations or

configurations. Where once there were nearly two dozen, there

are now just ten.

Whichever of these groups is meeting, they always act as the

Council, and in legal terms their decisions are always taken as

the Council.

While four councils (General Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Ecofin,

Agriculture) meet monthly, the rest meet between two and four

times a year, for a grand total of about 50–60 Council meetings

per year.

How the Council of Ministers is structuredThe Presidency

The leadership of all meetings of the Council of Ministers except the Foreign

Affairs Council. Held by the governments of EU member states in a rotation of six

months each. In order to help encourage policy consistency, each presidency

cooperates with its predecessor and successor by the use of a troika system.

With Lisbon, this has evolved into a virtual 18-month three-state team presidency.

The duties of the presidency are as follows (Elgström, 2003, pp. 4–7):

It prepares and coordinates the work of the Council of Ministers, setting the

agendas for several thousand annual meetings of ministers, working parties

and committees.

It arranges and chairs most meetings of the Council of Ministers and Coreper,

and represents the Council in dealings with other EU institutions.

It mediates, bargains, promotes cooperation among member states, and tries

to ensure that policy development has consistency and continuity.

How the Council of Ministers is structuredPermanent Representative (Coreper)

The Committee of Permanent Representatives, in which delegates

from each of the member states meet to discuss proposals for new

laws before they are sent to the Council of Ministers for a final

decision.

The staffs of the Permanent Representations include experts in each

of the policy areas addressed by the EU, and these experts will meet

regularly as Coreper (often multiple times each week, and altogether

about 2,000 times a year) to go through the proposals for new laws,

to argue national positions, and to work out agreements and

compromises.

As much as 85 per cent of the detailed work of the Council is finished

before the ministers even meet.

How the Council of Ministers is structuredWorking parties and committees

The first port of call for a proposal from the Commission

is usually a working party, which reviews the technical

details and makes a recommendation to Coreper.

They bring together policy specialists, national experts,

members of the Permanent Representations, and staff

from the Commission.

The Council also has several standing committees,

dealing with key issues.

How the Council of Ministers is structuredGeneral Secretariat

This is the bureaucracy of the Council, staffed by about

3,000 employees based in Brussels, most of them

translators and service staff.

It was originally focused mainly on secretarial work, but

has since become more political, helping manage

negotiations, offering counsel to the presidency, and

helping with the executive duties of the secretary

general.

What the Council of Ministers does Shares powers with the European Parliament for

discussing and passing laws

Shares powers with Parliament for approving and

adopting the EU budget

Coordinates the economic policies of the member states

Coordinates justice and home affairs policies of the

member states

Defines and implements the Common Foreign and

Security Policy

Concludes international agreements on behalf of the EU

What the Council of Ministers doesThe Voting system in the Council

The Council of the EU takes its decisions by:

simple majority (15 member states vote in favour)

qualified majority (260 votes from at least 15 member

states are in favour), or

unanimous vote (all votes are in favour)

How the European Council is structuredThe European Council and the Council of Ministers are often confused, and

sometimes (wrongly) interchangeably referred to as ‘The Council’, but their

membership, rules, structure and legal personalities are quite distinct. Among

the critical differences:

Its members are the heads of government of the EU member states (not

the ministers).

It has its own appointed president (and is no longer chaired by a

presidency from a member state).

It discusses broad strategic issues (not proposals for new laws).

It mainly uses only one means of decision-making (consensus).

It meets a maximum of four times each year as a rule (not monthly).

It has no legislative functions and no direct relationship with the European

Parliament.

How the European Council is structuredThe European Council focuses on key decisions about the strategic direction of

political integration, such as:

launching policy cooperation in new areas,

helping drive the EU policy agenda,

ensuring policy consistency, and

promoting the development of a common EU foreign policy.

Beyond policy-making, the Council also makes appointments to several of the

key positions in the EU hierarchy.

appoints its own president,

appoints the president of the Commission

appoints the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and

Security Policy

confirms the list of new Commissioners

How the European Council is structuredThe European Council tries to focus on the longer-term needs of the

EU, using summitry rather than meetings designed to pore over the

details of policy.

Summitry

The use of high-level person-to-person negotiations for the

discussion and resolution of international issues.

This is usual for bilateral or multilateral discussions among the

leaders of states, and has been a regular part of the EU decision-

making process since the creation of the European Council.

Summits by definition are usually short, deal with strategic issues

rather than the technical details of policy, and set the tone and

character of intergovernmental relations.

What the European Council doesThe dynamics of Council decision-making have also been

left hostage to at least five sets of internal pressures::

EU The Franco-German axis

The ideological and personal agendas of individual

leaders

The levels of experience of individual leaders

The levels of support enjoyed at home by individual

leaders.

The different levels of respect and credibility earned by

different leaders.

What the European Council doesPresident of the European Council

The head of the European Council, a position created with

the passage of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. Appointed by

the Council for renewable two-and-a-half-year terms, and

charged with giving it direction.

For now, opinion remains split on whether the Council best

works as a collective, or whether it still needs the kind of

president who can lead from the front.