Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is one of two legislative bodies and together with the European Parliament serves to amend and approve, or veto, the proposals of the European Commission, which holds the right of initiative.
The Council of the European Union and the European Council are the only EU institutions that are explicitly intergovernmental, that is, forums whose attendees express and represent the position of their Member State's executive, be they ambassadors, ministers or heads of state/government.
The Council meets in 10 different configurations of national ministers. The precise membership of these configurations varies according to the topic under consideration; for example, when discussing agricultural policy the council is formed by the national ministers whose portfolio includes this policy area.
Composition
The presidency of the Council rotates every six months among the governments of EU member states, with the relevant ministers of the respective country holding the Presidency at any given time ensuring the smooth running of the meetings and setting the daily agenda. The continuity between presidencies is provided by an arrangement under which three successive presidencies, known as Presidency trios, share common political programmes. The Foreign Affairs Council is however chaired by the Union's High Representative.Its decisions are made by qualified majority voting in most areas, unanimity in others, or just simple majority for procedural issues. Usually where it operates unanimously, it only needs to consult the Parliament. However, in most areas the ordinary legislative procedure applies meaning both Council and Parliament share legislative and budgetary powers equally, meaning both have to agree for a proposal to pass. In a few limited areas the Council may initiate new EU law itself.
The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, also known as Council Secretariat, assists the Council of the European Union, the presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Council and the president of the European Council. The Secretariat is headed by the secretary-general of the Council of the European Union. The Secretariat is divided into eleven directorates-general, each administered by a director-general.
History
The Council first appeared in the European Coal and Steel Community as the "Special Council of Ministers", set up to counterbalance the High Authority. The original Council had limited powers: issues relating only to coal and steel were in the Authority's domain, and the council's consent was only required on decisions outside coal and steel. As a whole, the Council only scrutinised the High Authority. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome established two new communities, and with them two new Councils: the Council of the European Atomic Energy Community and the Council of the European Economic Community. However, due to objections over the supranational power of the Authority, their Councils had more powers; the new executive bodies were known as "Commissions".In 1965, the council was hit by the "empty chair crisis". Due to disagreements between French president Charles de Gaulle and the commission's agriculture proposals, among other things, France boycotted all meetings of the council. This halted the council's work until the impasse was resolved the following year by the Luxembourg compromise. Although initiated by a gamble of the President of the commission, Walter Hallstein, who later on lost the Presidency, the crisis exposed flaws in the council's workings.
Under the Merger Treaty of 1967, the ECSC's Special Council of Ministers and the Council of the EAEC were merged into the Council of the European Communities, which would act as a single Council for all three institutions. In 1993, the Council adopted the name 'Council of the European Union', following the establishment of the European Union by the Maastricht Treaty. That treaty strengthened the council, with the addition of more intergovernmental elements in the three pillars system. However, at the same time the Parliament and Commission had been strengthened inside the Community pillar, curtailing the ability of the council to act independently.
The Treaty of Lisbon abolished the pillar system and gave further powers to Parliament. It also merged the council's High Representative with the Commission's foreign policy head, with this new figure chairing the foreign affairs Council rather than the rotating presidency. The European Council was declared a separate institution from the council, also chaired by a permanent president, and the different Council configurations were mentioned in the treaties for the first time.
The development of the council has been characterised by the rise in power of the Parliament, with which the council has had to share its legislative powers. The Parliament has often provided opposition to the council's wishes. This has in some cases led to clashes between both bodies with the council's system of intergovernmentalism contradicting the developing parliamentary system and supranational principles.
Powers and functions
The primary purpose of the council is to act as one of two vetoing bodies of the EU's legislative branch, the other being the European Parliament. Together they serve to amend, approve or disapprove the proposals of the European Commission, which has the sole power to propose laws. Jointly with the Parliament, the Council holds the budgetary power of the Union and has greater control than the Parliament over the more intergovernmental areas of the EU, such as foreign policy and macroeconomic co-ordination. Finally, before the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, it formally held the executive power of the EU which it conferred upon the European Commission. It is considered by some to be equivalent to an upper house of the EU legislature, although it is not described as such in the treaties. The Council represents the executive governments of the EU's member states and is based in the Europa building in Brussels.The council also has an important role in the formation of the European Commission. The Council sitting in the General Affairs Council configuration, in agreement with the President-elect of the Commissission, adopts a list of candidates for the Commission proposed by the member states.
Legislative procedure
The EU's legislative authority is divided between the council, the Parliament and the commission. As the relationships and powers of these institutions have developed, various legislative procedures have been created for adopting laws. In early times, the avis facultatif maxim was: "The Commission proposes, and the Council disposes"; but now the vast majority of laws are subject to the ordinary legislative procedure, which works on the principle that consent from both the Council and Parliament are required before a law may be adopted.Under this procedure, the Commission presents a proposal to Parliament and the council. Following its first reading the Parliament may propose amendments. If the Council accepts these amendments then the legislation is approved. If it does not then it adopts a "common position" and submits that new version to the Parliament. At its second reading, if the Parliament approves the text or does not act, the text is adopted, otherwise the Parliament may propose further amendments to the council's proposal. It may be rejected out right by an absolute majority of MEPs. If the Council still does not approve the Parliament's position, then the text is taken to a "Conciliation Committee" composed of the Council members plus an equal number of MEPs. If a Committee manages to adopt a joint text, it then has to be approved in a third reading by both the Council and Parliament or the proposal is abandoned.
The few other areas that operate the special legislative procedures are justice & home affairs, budget and taxation and certain aspects of other policy areas: such as the fiscal aspects of environmental policy. In these areas, the council or Parliament decide law alone. The procedure used also depends upon which type of institutional act is being used. The strongest act is a regulation, an act or law which is directly applicable in its entirety. Then there are directives which bind members to certain goals which they must achieve, but they do this through their own laws and hence have room to manoeuvre in deciding upon them. A decision is an instrument which is focused at a particular person or group and is directly applicable. Institutions may also issue recommendations and opinions which are merely non-binding declarations.
The Council votes in one of three ways; unanimity, simple majority, or qualified majority. In most cases, the Council votes on issues by qualified majority voting, meaning that there must be a minimum of 55% of member states agreeing who together represent at least 65% of the EU population. A 'blocking minority' can only be formed by at least 4 member states, even if the objecting states constitute more than 35% of the population.