The Council of Ministers Council of the EU

1
The Council of Ministers (Council of the EU)

• Organization, Politics, and Reform

2
The Presidency

• Basic Elements
• Led by a single President, rotates every 6 months
  in a prearranged, unanimously agreed upon order
  (not alphabetical) sequence of big and small,
  old and new members states. Workload is
  distributed evenly among members.
• --Reasons for the importance of which country
  holds the presidency at any particular time
• each countys approach to even the most routine
  and uncontroversial EU business is bound to be
  slightly idiosyncratic.
• countries have preferences for certain EU
  policies, programs, or activities.
• changing circumstances inside and outside the EU
  are likely to determine a countrys presidential
  performance.

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The Presidency

• Basic Responsibilities
• Prepares and chairs meetings of the Council and
  its subcommittees and brokers deals in the
  Council.
• Plans the Councils six month calendar, convenes
  meetings, prepares agendas, and drafts
  conclusions.
• Brokering agreement between member states for the
  sake of the union, and advancing their own
  positions. Biased and neutral at the same time.

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The Presidency

• May also launch strategic policy initiatives
• Coordinates member states position at
  international conferences, and represents the EU
  internationally.
• US/ EU meetings every six months with the
  presidents of the Commission and the Council.
• Position of high representative for the CFSP,
  with the Amsterdam treaty in 1997, to be Council
  Secretary General, but now to be the
  international representative of the European
  Council for matters relating to foreign policy.

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The Presidency

• Foreign minister for the EU by the Constitutional
  treaty, would end the rotating presidency with
  regard to foreign and security policy.
• Presidencys prominence in security and defense
  policy is burdensome for small states
• sizeable pool of competent chairpersons, which
  small members have difficulty providing.
• responsibility to represent the EU
  internationally can be detrimental to the EU
  status and influence when a small country is in
  the chair.

6
The Presidency

• Continuity and coordination
• The troika consists of the current, immediately
  preceding, and immediately succeeding
  presidencies, cooperated closely and continuously
  with the assistance of the Commission (later the
  troika was reorganized to comprise of the
  president in office, the succeeding president,
  the high representative, and the commissioner on
  external relations).
• European Council 2004, groups of six consecutive
  presidencies would adopt a multiannual strategic
  program.

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Internal Structure

• The Council Secretariat
• Council secretariat (approximately 2,000) helps
  draft the six-month legislative program, provides
  legal advice, briefs government ministers on
  current EU issues, prepares the agenda for
  Council meetings.
• Legal service represents the Council before the
  Court of Justice, ensures that all texts are
  adopted in order, and advises the Council at all
  levels.
• Council secretariat has acquired a higher
  political profile in the last years (secretary
  general to be the high representative for CFSP),
  the presidency is the presidency plus the
  secretariat.

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Internal Structure

• Council Formations
• Original EC treaty each government shall
  delegate to the Council one of its members.
  Maastricht treaty describes the council as
  consisting of representatives of each member
  state at ministerial level authorized to commit
  the government of that member state.
• Legally there is only one council, in practice
  there are various Council formations organized
  along policy lines.
• Based on the Trumpf-Piris report the Council
  decided to cut back Council formations to 9, and
  revamp the General affairs and External Relations
  Council.
• Constitutional treaty scrapes the presidency
  system proposes only two councils (one on
  legislative and general affairs, and one on
  foreign affairs), although it provides for the
  European council to establish additional
  formations along sectoral lines.

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Internal Structure

• Decision-Making in the Council of Ministers
• Voting in the Council of Ministers was secret but
  is now (since Maastricht and Amsterdam) public
  when an actual vote is called (rare).
• Council Meetings are in camera and not open to
  the public. Access to meetings is severely
  restricted.
• Information is provided to the public through
  regular press communiqués (after each general
  summit and through regular press dispatches and
  are available on line as well).

10
Internal Structure

• COREPER- Permanent Representatives Committee
• Composed of permanent representatives (embassy)
  from each member state.
• Prepares the Councils agendas, decide which
  issue goes to which Council, and set up and
  monitor legislative working groups.
• Coreper is explicitly sensitive to national
  interests and works closely with national
  interest groups.

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Internal Structure

• Work takes place on two levels
• Level 1- COREPER 1 consists of primarily
  technical matters dealt with by deputy permanent
  representatives.
• Level 2- COREPER 2 consists of primarily
  political matters dealt with by the various the
  permanent representatives themselves.

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Internal Structure

• Two types of decisions are reached within
  COREPER
• Type A Items agreed to at a lower level that
  Coreper places on the Councils agenda for formal
  voting, the Council adopts without further
  discussion (non-controversial and/or technical
  bills only).
• Type B Items thoroughly discussed at a lower
  level but on which Coreper was unable to reach
  agreement. The Council may approve some of the B
  points without a vote or may send them back to
  Coreper for further deliberation. Occasionally
  the president may call for an indicative vote on
  contentious B points to see where each country
  stands. Depending on the outcome the president
  may call for a definitive vote or for further
  discussion.

13
Questions

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of the
  Revolving Presidency?
• Is the Council of Ministers and Executive, a
  legislature, or both, and why, or why not?
• Is the presidency an important agenda setter, how
  and why, or why not?