European Union (EU) Council of the EU
Decision Making in the European Union
Along with the European Parliament , the Council forms the legislative branch of the EU. Where the Parliament represents the interests of the EU citizens, the Council represents the interests of the member countries.
There are six main roles performed by the Council:
- Passing of laws: Sharing with the Parliament the power of voting for, and passing EU laws which are initiated by the European Commission.
- Coordinate economic policies: Ensure an overall economic policy based on close co-ordination between member countries.
- Budget Control: Approve the EU budget in conjunction with the Parliament.
- Finalize international agreements: Signature power and responsibility over agreements between the EU and other countries.
- Develop common foreign and security policies: Although member states of the EU have not pooled their sovereignty in areas of national defense, the Council strives to build the Common Foreign and Security Policy in cooperation with member states.
- Foster cooperation between police and national courts: Ensure that EU citizens have equal access to civil justice no matter which country they are residing in the EU.
Composition of the Council
The Council is composed of one minister from each country. However, the composition of he council depends on the subject matter of the meeting. For example, a meeting on EU health issues would be comprised of the health ministers of each EU member state.
There are currently nine forms a meeting of the Council can take:
- General Affairs and External Relations
- Economic and Financial Affairs
- Justice and Home Affairs
- Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
- Competitiveness
- Transport, Telecommunications and Energy
- Agriculture and Fisheries
- Environment
- Education, Youth and Culture
Decisions in the Council are taken through qualified majority voting. Each country has a different number of votes based on the population. This ranges from three for Malta to 29 each for Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom with a total of 345 votes in Council.
For other then highly sensitive matters, which require a unanimous vote to pass, issues brought to vote require a qualified majority to pass. The qualification is that a majority of member states (minimum set for each vote) approve and if at least 255 votes is cast in favor.
The presidency of the Council is set by a rotation through the member states. Each country holds presidency for a six month period. The primary responsibility of the president is to chair Council meetings. Among other tasks, the president must act to broker differences between member states. Depending on the form of the Council meeting, the minister will change, however they will be from the country currently holding presidency of the Council.
Future of the Council
As outlined in the Treaty of Lisbon which is planned to take effect before the end of 2009, the Council of the European Union will be renamed to the Council of Ministers. In addition, measures will be taken to officially separate from the European Council (a council comprised of heads of state from EU member countries). Primarily the European Council will become an official institution within the EU with its own presidency.
Further down the road it is expected that a new vote weighting system will be implemented.
Countries of The European Union
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