The Council of the European Union is the main decision-making body of the European Union (EU). Established by the Treaty of Rome, it represents the member states of the EU. Until the Treaty on European Union (TEU) it was referred to as the Council of Ministers of the European Communities, and is still sometimes referred to simply as the Council of Ministers.
The Council provides a forum for representatives of EU member states to meet to make decisions on EU policy. The institution is organized as 16 different Councils which correspond to key areas of EU policy (transport, economics and finance, justice and home affairs, social affairs, etc.). Each specialist Council is composed of the relevant ministers from each member state. Foreign Ministers meet in the General Affairs Committee, which provides overall policy co-ordination. Council meetings are held between once a month and twice a year, depending on the subject matter; agriculture and economics and finance tend to meet monthly. Preparation for ministerial meetings is carried out by the Council’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), numerous working groups, and the Council General Secretariat. Council meetings are organized and chaired by the Council presidency, which rotates every six months. The member state which holds the presidency also organizes the biannual summit meetings of the European Council.
The Council of the European Union has the right to decide on all areas of EU policy. In matters which fall under the first pillar of the European Community (e.g. single market, agriculture, competition policy, economic and monetary union), the Council decides on legislative proposals made by the European Commission. On second and third pillar issues—Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters—the Council also has the right to make policy proposals. Originally the Council had the sole right to decide legislation, and the European Parliament (EP) needed only to be consulted. This is still the case in policy falling under pillars two and three. However, the TEU introduced the co-decision procedure whereby the Council makes decisions jointly with the EP on an increasing number of policy issues. A conciliation committee is set up where there is disagreement.
Originally, Council decisions were made on the basis of unanimity, and member states could veto legislation with a ‘no’ vote. In fact, this is still the case in CFSP and Police and Judicial matters. However, the Single European Act extended the use of qualified majority voting (QMV) to speed up the passage of legislation needed to complete the Single European Market programme in 1992. Subsequently the use of QMV has extended into additional policy areas. One important exception is taxation, where states retain the power of veto. Under the system of QMV states’ votes are weighted according to population size. These weightings were altered by the Treaty of Nice to incorporate the 10 accession states which joined the EU on 1 May 2004. At present 71% of votes are required to pass legislation. In practice formal votes are rarely taken as the Council governs according to the principle of consensus.
QMV weightings Treaty of Nice (pre-Nice votes in brackets): France 29 (10); Germany 29 (10); Italy 29 (10); United Kingdom 29 (10); Poland 27; Spain 27 (8); Netherlands 13 (5); Belgium 12 (5); Czech Republic 12; Greece 12 (5); Hungary 12; Portugal 12 (5); Austria 10 (4); Sweden 10 (4); Denmark 7 (4); Finland 7 (4); Ireland 7 (4); Lithuania 7; Slovakia 7; Estonia 4; Latvia 4; Luxembourg 4 (2); Slovenia 4; Cyprus 4; Malta 3.
The TEU increased the powers of the EP to scrutinize the Council. However, it is widely criticized as an undemocratic and opaque institution. Decisions made by the Council have tended to be made behind closed doors in order to encourage frank discussion and efficient outcomes. The accession of the 10 new member states on 1 May 2004 has raised concerns about whether the efficiency and the consensual nature of decision-making in the European Council can be retained. The Constitutional Treaty drafted by the European Convention proposed reforms to the Council of the European Union. It was proposed that QMV should be amended so that a double majority—55% of states representing 65% of EU citizens—is required to pass EU legislation. Also, the six-month rotating presidency would be changed to an 18-month rotating presidency shared by a troika of member states. The Council for Foreign Affairs would be chaired by a new Union Minister for Foreign Affairs. This new post would combine the current portfolios of the Commissioner for External Relations in the European Commission and the secretary-general of the Council of the European Union, who would also serve as the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy.
Sec.-Gen.: Javier Solana
Address: Council of the European Union, rue de la Loi 175, 1048 Brussels, Belgium
