The Council of Ministers and the European Council Flashcards
European Counci
heads of state & government
Council of the European Union
= ‘the Council’ = Council of Ministers
Council of Europe
is NOT part of the European Union
3 layers of the Council
ministers
coreper
working groups
ministers
are the only one who have the power to decide on their own on one of the 10 configurations.
presidency of the council of ministers is held by nations, switching every six months. there is some freedom in deciding how to organize the presidency.
tasks presidency of council
prepares and coordinates the work of ministers
chairs meetings
promotes cooperation between member states
coreper
= committee of permanent representatives
like embassies, but for an international organisation. experts on different policy areas
every member state has one, and they consist of:
* Permanent Representative (for Coreper 2)
* Deputy Permanent Representative (for Coreper 1)
* Ambassador to the Political and Security Committee
* Policy specialists
each member state has a permanent representation, they consist of;
- Permanent Representative (for Coreper 2)
- Deputy Permanent Representative (for Coreper 1)
- Ambassador to the Political and Security Committee
- Policy specialists
general secretariat of the council
general logistical tasks, secretarial services
sometimes also advice, depending on presidency preferences
working groups
about 150 working parties
specialist member state civil servants
policy experts, most likely in touch with civil servants in national ministeries
workflow within the council
always end with the decision of ministers
always start with working groups
the European Commission starts with a policy document, members of the Council start adding footnotes until there is an agreement. In the end the voting decides
all ministers can vote on all configurations if it makes the time of agreement shorter
policy document –> footnotes until agreement
steps to final decision
- EC sends proposal to Council and EP
- proposal reviewed by working parties
- discussed by coreper
- sent to relevant ministerial council
- involving the EP again (second reading)
- final decision
How the Council crafts consensus
bargaining –> in working groups / in Coreper / among ministers
consensus –> In working groups / in Coreper (sometimes) / among ministers (rarely)
Coreper decides when to involve the ministers, and for what purpose!
power and legitimacy of, and within, the council
working groups in touch with civil servants in national ministries
coreper: prepares ministerial agenda, log-rolling between files, gives advice
ministers: formally decide, do the mentioned above issues for political weight
voting in the Council
Some issues require unanimity: all member states can veto
Most issues: qualified majority voting (QMV)
blocking minority: >35% of EU population (at least 4 large states)
qualified majority voting (QMV)
55% of member states in favour if proposal comes from EU Commission
72% of member states in favour if proposal does not come from EU Commission
AND these represent at least 65% of EU population
influence of countries
two level game: member states want to win the battle in the Council, the council wants to win from the EP
Member states who fear losing in the Council sometimes approach the EP directly
individual countries have specific interests
Difficult to find good data, need interviews for this
member states want to win from council
council wants to win from EP
links with national politics
Member state positions are cleared with national ministries
MS regularly use ‘scrutiny reservations’
Some member state parliaments explicitly mandate Council negotiators, most do not
Transparency of Council is improving, but difficult to keep track of ongoing negotiations
the European Council
Different from Council of Ministers
Heads of State and Government, summit meetings
‘General Direction of European Union’
Hardly any formal decisions, but ‘Conclusions’
Highly political issues, decision-making difficult
Formalized per 2009, fixed president
president European council
president of the council chairs the meeting, decision is made based on consensus
ensure external representation
must report to the EP after each meeting
elected by QMV
differences betwen the European Council and the Council of Ministers
Members of the European Council are heads of state, not ministers
European Council has an appointed president, minister council roulates
E. Council discusses strategic issues, Council discusses laws
E. Council decides by consensus, other by voting
E. Council has no legislative functions and no relationship with the EP
power and impact European Council
Hardly any decision-making powers
Informally very important
A lot of preparation/pre-cooking of EC conclusions, but not always successful
Compromises can be messy: all member states need to agree
