chapter 10 - the council of the EU

Question 1

other names council of the European Union

Answer 1

• the Council (Lisbon Treaty)
• Council of Ministers

Question 2

(responsibilities and functions council of the EU
- classification Hayes-Renshaw and Wallace)

Answer 2

• legislative
• executive
• steering (big bargains that orient the future of the Union)
• forum (arena for gov. to develop convergent national approaches in fields where the Union does not have clear collective policy powers)

Question 3

functions/resp. council acc to the book

Answer 3

1. policy and law-maker
2. executive
3. mediator

Council has gained and lost responsibilities

gain: extended scope of policy interests

loss:

• European Council (heads of gov.) greater responsibility for final political decisions on sensitive/contested issues
• increased powers of the EP

Question 4

policy and law-making function Council of the EU

Answer 4

= principle responsibility (often shared with other EU bodies)

Community methods (making EU legislation) limits the council:
*most independent when not acting within ‘the Community method’
- foreign and defence policy

1. Council restricted to acting on the basis of proposals that are made by the Commission
2. EP has important legislative powers (Maastricht Treaty->EP as co-decision maker)

factors boosting Council’s policy role in areas that are subject to the Community method:

1. Article 241 TFEU: Council can request the Commission to study something
2. Council can adopt recommendations and opinions (legislation without binding force, but with political weight)
3. Council becoming bigger and more specialized
4. use of Council Conclusions to indicate to the Commission the preferences of member states
5. willingness of member states to found aspects of cooperation not on EU law but on non-binding arrangements and understandings

!Council is key player in the EU annual budget (requires EP and Council approval)

Question 5

executive function Council of the EU

Answer 5

= principle institution responsible for implementation EU law and policy

!Commission exerts control, but does so through committees composed of national gov. officials -> gives Council indirect executive powers

?

Question 6

mediator function Council of the EU

Answer 6

Council = forum in which national representatives meet -> dev. mutual understanding, compromise

Question 7

Composition Council of the EU

Answer 7

• ministers
• committee of permanent representatives
• committees and working powers
• general secretariat

Question 8

ministers council of the EU

Answer 8

Council meets in different formations to deal with different (10) policy areas

• General Affairs Council: horizontal matters (coordination between diff policy areas) + preparing and following up meetings of the European Council
• Foreign Affairs Council: EU external policies
• Ecofin (Economic and Finance Council)
  *often first meeting of Eurogroup: Economic/Finance Ministers of eurozone states

often member states sent multiple ministers, but they only attend for the agenda items that directly concern them

states themselves pick by whom they want to be represented -> decisions may vary:

1. level of seniority (diff levels of seniority can make it difficult to come to binding decisions)
2. sectoral responsibility: not always obvious which gov. dep. should be represented at Council meetings -> sometimes diff types of ministers + sometimes ministers are afraid to speak on behalf of fellow national ministers

-> states not always comparably represented at ministerial meetings
!states don’t only send ministers, they often get back up (normally 4-5 officials in ‘inner table team’)

!!regularity of meetings reflects importance of the specific individual formations of the Council
usually ~70 a year (all formations)

Question 9

Committee of Permanent Representatives

Answer 9

each member state has a national delegation (Permanent Representation headed by a Permanent Representative) in Brussels

COREPER = Committee of Permanent Representatives
(one of the many forums in which govs meet ‘in Council’)
= for preparing the work of the Council and carrying out tasks assigned by the Council (Art.4 Merger Treaty)
*meet once a week

• COREPER II = more senior + more political agenda
  *is supported by the Antici Group (senior officials from Permanent Representations, act to mediate and gather info)
• COREPER I = national delegations headed by the Deputy Permanent Representatives, deals with more technical and legislative matters
  *supported by the Mertens group

!marginal decline position/effectiveness COREPER:

1. very senior Council committees have become almost equal to COREPER
2. growth EU size -> reduced COREPER ability to do things informally

Question 10

Committees and working parties - Council of the EU

Answer 10

Council Committees
= national officials serviced by Council administrators

• task = advice the Council and the Commission as appropriate or directed
• more and more ad hoc committees of senior national officials (High-Level Groups) to dev. initiatives and policies in new/sensitive areas
  e.g. High-Level Group on Education and Training
• many diff committees, e.g.: Special Committee on Agriculture, Trade Policy Committee, Economic and Financial Committee, Political and Security Committee, Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security

Working parties / working groups
= carry out detailed analyses of formally tabled Commission proposals for legislation
~150, mainly in agricultural policy area

• usually 2-4 representatives per country, sometimes they’re non-civil servants (when issues are really technical/complex)
• was supposed to be ‘working’, aka not too many people -> clubbable, in practice: legislators + many representatives
• meetings set before start of Presidencies, but meet more often (usually at least 2 weeks in between)

Question 11

General Secretariat - Council of the European Union

Answer 11

= main administrative support
headed by the Council’s Secretary-General (appointed by European Council)

~3000 staff, most located in Directorates General dealing with diff policy areas

• service Council machinery: preparing draft agendas, drafting/assisting documentation, keeping records, giving legal advice, translating, monitoring policy dev. (incl. smooth transition between presidencies)
• works closely with the Council Presidency: decides on policy priorities, meetings, composition agendas etc.

!not all presidencies rely equally on the Secretariat + vice versa

Question 12

The Operation of the Council

Answer 12

Council Presidency

• rotation system
• tasks
• advantages and disadvantages of holding the presidency

hierarchical structure

decision-making procedures

• taking decisions
• conduct of meetings
• informal processes and relationships

Question 13

Council Presidency

Answer 13

rotation system (Lisbon Treaty 2009)

• 6 monthly basis: january-june, july-december
• presidencies arranged into groupings of three states: ideally one large/medium state and two others -> presidency of three member states for 18 months
  *but still each 6 months one chairs all meetings

tasks

1. arrange + chair Council meetings from ministerial level downwards (in close association with the General Secretariat) = lead Presidency state (with some exceptions, e.g. meetings about the EU annual budget by state holding 2nd six-month period of the year) -> control over how often Ciuncil bodies meet + agendas etc.
2. to build consensus for initiatives
   increased importance bc: increased range/complexity EU business and member states, increased availability GMV
3. offer leadership: each trio Presidency issues an 18-month work program + work-programs for each state
4. ensure continuity and consistency of policy development: increased attention to medium-term planning (therefore trio-system)
5. represent the Council in dealings with outside bodies (other EU institutions + non-member countries)

advantages and disadvantages of holding the Presidency

• advantages: prestige and status + potential to help shape and set pace of EU policy priorities (but this should not be overstated)
• disadvantages: heavy administrative and financial burdens (grows with growing competence EU) + expected consensual approach rather than defending national interest + blow to esteem and standing associated with ‘‘poor Presidency’’

Question 14

Hierarchical structure council of the EU

Answer 14

• ministers (10 formations of equal status)
• COREPER + high-level committees (SCA + PSC)
• committees and working parties (~200 in total)

hierarchical structure not tight nor rigidly applied, but for the most part it works

Council’s procedures for dealing with Commission proposal for a significant piece of legislation:

1. examination Commission’s text = working party(s)
   important: QMV vs unanimity, if there is QMV representatives in working parties have 3 strategies to push their own national interest: stress national interests V attempts to amend but not too much fuss V attempt to do a deal
   sometimes many meetings before agreement
2. reference of working party’s document to COREPER = sort of filtering agency for ministerial meeting (try to clear the ground)
   *working party has not always reached agreement -> COREPER can refer it back, try to resolve it by itself, or pass it upwards to the ministers
3. Ministerial meeting
   A points = matters that have already been agreed upon, only need approval
   B points = unresolved (can e.g. be left from previous meetings)

Question 15

(agenda items Ministerial meetings)

Answer 15

• variations in what ministers are expected to do: final decision, adoption common position, approval of negotiating mandates for the Commission, resolution problems, noting of progress reports
• sometimes general policy matters, sometimes specialised
• sometimes ‘Extra sectoral’ items: decided in a meeting of not the most relevant Ministers, but the other meetings won’t meet any time soon
• agendas can include administrative matters

Question 16

decision-making procedures Council of the EU

Answer 16

• unanimity (used to be the norm, now rare)
  e.g. amending Commission legislature proposal against Commission wish V enlargement decisions
• QMV (usually)
• simple majority vote (mainly for procedural purposes)

!until mid-80s votes usually not until agreement was made
bc: Luxembourg Compromise 1966 -> state can veto questions that affect vital national interest

!!still with QMV usually try to function with consensus

1980s-> more QMV:

• changed attitudes: unanimity leads to procrastination and delay + unsatisfactory/no decision-making
• ‘legitimacy’ and ‘mystique’ Luxembourg Compromise dealt with severe blow in May 192: attempt to invoke it was overridden
• increasing number + variety of interests -> unanimity more and more difficult
• treaties since SEA have extended policy areas where QMV is permissible
• july 1987: General Affairs Council amended the Council’s Rules of Procedure -> easier to request votes

!!!there are less formal votes than expected: sometimes majority is clear or something is dealt with earlier on (e.g. in COREPER) (rather than try to vote against and be outvoted)

(tour de table procedure: to bring some order in chaotic minister meetings: each delegation gives summary of its thinking -> not one dominates + points for agreement become clear)
*made more difficult by enlargement
*enlargement also made the meetings more formal (not good for negotiation)

Question 17

QMV

Answer 17

first: weighted vote and triple majority

Lisbon Treaty ->

55% member states representing 65% of the EU population

!smaller member states can insist a particular vote is taken with pre-Lisbon Treaty rules

Question 18

informal processes and relationships

Answer 18

Council decision-making procedures, often informal processes are important

3 examples:

1. many understandings/agreements are reached at lunches and dinners that are part of ministerial meetings
2. difficulties-> chairperson uses scheduled/requested breaks to explore possibilities for a settlement (off-record discussions)
3. what happens between meetings often crucial in determining outcomes

Question 19

conclusion

Answer 19

recent years = reforms function and structure Council

aims: less dispersed, more cohesion, quicker decision making

reforms have not gone far enough, some argue we need a ‘super’ Council of European Ministers with authority to impose overall policy pattern on subsidiary sectoral Councils (but this is not a political realistic thing)