The Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers)

The main features of the Council of the European Union are:

  • The Council has 6 fundamental responsibilities:
  • It has joint legislative power with the European Parliament.
  • It coordinates the economic policies of the member states.
  • It approves the budget of the EU in tandem with the European Parliament.
  • It defines the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the EU.
  • It coordinates cooperation between the EU's judicial bodies and the national police forces in criminal matters.
  • It concludes international agreements between the EU and the other countries or international organisations.
  • It is, therefore, the main legislative and decision-taking arm of the EU, on the basis of proposals that are brought forward by the Commission. It is responsible for adopting the EU budget and for the EU's external relations.
  • The Council consists of representatives from each of the member states, and its meetings are attended by at least one Commissioner as well as by officials of is own secretariat. The specific Council membership changes according to the policy issues under discussion. For example, agriculture ministers attend for meetings on agricultural issues and finance ministers for economic and financial affairs (Ecofin).
  • Representatives of the member states meet in nine differently conformed Councils, each dealing with a specific area:
  • The General Affairs and External Relations Council, includes CFSP (foreign and security affairs), common security and defence policy (CSDP), foreign trade.
  • The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN).
  • "Euro group" is a subset of ECOFIN and is the meeting of the finance ministers from the eurozone countries. Jean-Claude Juncker is the President (2005-08)
  • The Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA).
  • The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (ESPHCA).
  • The Competitiveness Council (internal market, industry and research).
  • The Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council.
  • The Agriculture and Fisheries Council.
  • The Council of the Environment.
  • The Council of Education, Youth and Culture (EYC).
  • The Council has a rotating chairmanship or "presidency" on a 6-monthly basis, with ministers from each member state taking turns in the chair. The foreign minister of the member state is usually the President of the Council of the European Union. During the course of each presidency, there is a summit meeting ("European Council") of heads of government (see below).
  • The Council is principally served by the permanent national representatives who meet as COREPER ("Comité des représentants permanents", Committee of the Permanent Representatives). UKREP is the shorthand term for the UK's permanent representatives.
  • The Council of Ministers must not be confused with the European Council (see below) or the non-EU body the Council of Europe.

There is also a General Secretariat of the Council, which assists the Council and the Presidency. The current Secretary-General is Javier Solana Madariaga, who is also the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. He is the EU's ambassador overseas. There are 8 Directorates-General and the office of the Secretary-General.

  • The Council of the EU has the following voting methods, as prescribed in the treaties:
  • Unanimity: where member states retain a veto. There are very few vetoes left.
  • QMV: in which each state is given a number of votes related to its size ("weighted" votes). This is the most widely used method of voting and, moreover, successive treaties have significantly extended QMV at the expense of unanimity. Enlargement changed the weightings for QMV, broadly as agreed under the Treaty of Nice. The table below provides the relevant data.
  • To pass a vote by QMV, all 3 of the following conditions must apply:
  • The proposal must be supported by 255 votes (minimum).
  • The proposal must be backed by the majority of member states.
  • The countries supporting the proposal must represent at least 62% of the total EU population.
  • In addition, a blocking minority must now consist of at least 4 states, making it more difficult for a minority of countries to block a decision.
  • If the Constitution comes into force, the conditions for passing a vote will be simplified. A QMV decision will require a "double majority" of 55% of member states, representing 65% of people.

Current membership numbers of the Council of the EU: votes for QMV

Member state / Votes / Population (millions)
Germany / 29 / 82.1
France / 29 / 61.4
UK / 29 / 60.5
Italy / 29 / 58.0
Spain / 27 / 44.7
Poland / 27 / 38.1
Romania / 14 / 21.7
Netherlands / 13 / 16.5
Greece / 12 / 11.1
Belgium / 12 / 10.6
CzechRepublic / 12 / 10.4
Portugal / 12 / 10.3
Hungary / 12 / 10.0
Sweden / 10 / 9.1
Austria / 10 / 8.3
Bulgaria / 10 / 7.7
Denmark / 7 / 5.4
Slovakia / 7 / 5.4
Finland / 7 / 5.2
Ireland / 7 / 4.2
Lithuania / 7 / 3.4
Latvia / 4 / 2.3
Slovenia / 4 / 2.0
Estonia / 4 / 1.3
Cyprus / 4 / 0.8
Luxembourg / 4 / 0.5
Malta / 3 / 0.4
Total (EU27) / 345
Qualified majority / 255 (74%)
Blocking votes / 91 (26%)

Source:

Some key dates are:

  • The Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) was set up under the 1957 Treaty of Rome.
  • The 1965 Merger Treaty created a common Council of Ministers for all three European Communities: the European Coal and Steel Community, the EEC and Euratom.
  • In response to the increase in the number of issues to be decided by QMV, rather than unanimity, President de Gaulle ordered a French boycott of the Council of Ministers and withdrew the French permanent representatives from Brussels in July 1965. This "empty chair crisis" ("chaise vide") continued until December 1965. The Luxembourg Compromise of January 1966, effectively postponing QMV in certain areas, resolved the crisis.
  • The Single European Act (1986) extended QMV.
  • The Maastricht Treaty (1992) also extended QMV.
  • The Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) also extended QMV.
  • The Treaty of Nice (2001) also extended QMV.
  • Enlargement changed the weightings for QMV, as broadly agreed at Nice.

Countries holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers) 1996-2020

January-June / July-December
1996 / Italy / Ireland
1997 / Netherlands / Luxembourg
1998 / UK / Austria
1999 / Germany / Finland
2000 / Portugal / France
2001 / Sweden / Belgium
2002 / Spain / Denmark
2003 / Greece / Italy
2004 / Ireland / Netherlands
2005 / Luxembourg / UK
2006 / Austria / Finland
2007 / Germany / Portugal
2008 / Slovenia / France
2009 / CzechRepublic / Sweden
2010 / Spain / Belgium
2011 / Hungary / Poland
2012 / Denmark / Cyprus
2013 / Ireland / Lithuania
2014 / Greece / Italy
2015 / Latvia / Luxembourg
2016 / Netherlands / Slovakia
2017 / Malta / UK
2018 / Estonia / Bulgaria
2019 / Austria / Romania
2020 / Finland / Na

Source: Dick Leonard, Guide to the European Union (9th edition), Economist, 2005, updated using the EU's website

RL, February 2007