THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 23 October 2017

AN ESSENTIAL EU DECISION-MAKERThe Council of the European Union – also known informally as the EU Council or, simply, the Council – is a key EU decision-maker. The institution brings together the ministers of the EU member states. They represent their elected national governments in those areas where the treaties – adopted by the member states – allow the Union to act. The Council mostly adopts laws and coordinates poli-cies in order to reach the objectives set in the European Council by the EU’s heads of state or government. The Council also develops the EU’s common foreign and security policy, concludes international agreements and together with the European Parliament, it adopts the EU budget.

Almost all law-making requires a proposal from the European Commission. In most cases, these proposals demand joint adop-tion by the Council and the European Parliament. Together with the Commission and the Parliament, the Council is therefore one of the three interdependent players in the Union’s law-making process. The Council may vote by a simple majority (15 member states vote in favour – used for non-legislative issues), unanimity (all countries vote in favour – in matters which the member states con-sider to be sensitive) or a qualified majority (55 % of member states, representing at least 65 % of the EU population, vote in favour). A qualified majority is the standard voting method, used for about 80 % of EU legislation. This method is used when the Council votes on a proposal by the Commission or the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.Council meetings take place in Brussels and for three months a year – April, June and October – in Luxembourg. They are organised according to subject. This means that there are Council meetings on

Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council in Brussels on 20 November 2017

finance, environment, energy, justice and so on, bringing together ministers with responsibilities in such areas. Officially there are ten specialised formats, called ‘Council configurations’. Some 70 to 80 Council meetings take place every year and each of these meet-ings is presided by the minister responsible for the subject under discussion from the member state holding the Council Presidency. European Commissioners responsible for the areas concerned also take part in Council meetings, although they cannot vote.

THE COUNCIL PRESIDENCYThe Council Presidency rotates among the EU member states every six months. The Presidency organises and chairs meetings of the Council and its preparatory bodies, and draws up comprom- ises that facilitate Council decisions. It also represents the Council in relations with the other EU institutions, particularly with the Commission and the European Parliament. The Presidency is sup-ported by the permanent General Secretariat of the Council. Member states holding the Presidency work together closely in teams of three, called ‘trios’. The trio sets long-term goals and pre-pares a common agenda that will be addressed by the Council over an 18 month period.

The Foreign Affairs Council is the only Council configuration that is not chaired by the rotating Presidency: it is chaired, instead, by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The informal Eurogroup meetings – in which the ministers of the euro area member states discuss matters relating to their shared respon-sibilities with regard to the euro – also have a permanent President, who is elected among its members.

General Affairs Council in Brussels on 7 March 2017

EU Council presidencies up to 2020:

Bulgaria: January-June 2018

Austria: July-December 2018

Romania: January-June 2019

Finland: July-December 2019

Croatia: January-June 2020

Germany: July-December 2020

FOLLOW THE WORK OF THE COUNCILThe Council’s work is as open as possible. Agendas for Council meetings and many of the papers discussed can be downloaded from the Council’s website. When the Council discusses the adop-tion of a law, the debate is web-streamed and made available on-line. In addition, Council votes on law-making are automatically made public. Similarly, you can follow press conferences and read and subscribe to other press related products published on the website.

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EUROPEAN COUNCIL, COUNCIL, COUNCIL OF EUROPE – CONFUSED?Both the European Council and the Council of the EU repre-sent the views of the governments of the EU member states. The European Council determines the EU’s general political direction and priorities, whereas the Council mostly adopts laws and coordinates policies. The European Council – which consists of the heads of state or government of the member states – represents the highest level of political cooperation between the member states. The institution does not negoti-ate or adopt legislation but sets the EU’s policy agenda.The European Council and the Council should not be confused with the Council of Europe, an international organisation based in Strasbourg which protects human rights, democracy and the rule of law and promotes European culture. It is totally separate from the EU.

Visit our website to learn more about the European Council and the Council: www.consilium.europa.euFollow us on social media: www.consilium.europa.eu/en/contact/social-media

EUROPEAN COUNCIL sets the EU’s

political agenda

COUNCIL OF THE EU negotiates and

votes on legislation

supports the work of both institutions

GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE COUNCIL (GSC)

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 1751048 Bruxelles/BrusselBELGIQUE/BELGIËTel. +32 (0)2 281 61 11www.consilium.europa.eu

Print PDFISBN 978-92-824-6347-5 ISBN 978-92-824-6346-8doi:10.2860/02376 doi:10.2860/864265QC-06-17-489-EN-C QC-06-17-489-EN-N

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Europa building: © Philippe Samyn, Valle, Happold, architects and engineers; colour compositions: © Georges Meurant, 2016