European Council and the Council

SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

l What is the difference between the European Council and the Council of the European Union? l How can I visit these two institutions? l Can I watch ministers at work in the Council? l How can I get hold of European Council or Council documents? l Who can answer my questions? OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY EU INSTITUTIONS AT THE SERVICE OF CITIZENS

Where can I find information about the European Council and the Council? You can find answers to your questions about these two EU institutions by consulting the following sources of information.

EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND COUNCIL ONLINE

The website www.consilium.europa.eu‌ is the main gateway to information on the European Council and the Council of the European Union. On this website, you will find: • general information on the two institutions, including information on meetings, policies and decision-making • information concerning the President of the European Council and his activities, statements and speeches, as well as documentation on European Council meetings • live streaming of open Council sessions, and Council presidency and European Council press conferences • the results of Council voting on legislative acts • access to European Council and Council documents • press releases and audiovisual material (videos and photos).

LIVE TRANSMISSIONS

All Council deliberations on legislation are public. The Council also holds public debates on issues affecting the interests of European citizens. You can follow public deliberations on legislative acts, as well as other Council debates and press conferences, live or on demand at video.consilium.europa.eu.

VOTING AT THE COUNCIL

The outcome of Council voting on legislative acts is announced on the website www‌.consilium.europa.eu/documents/legislative- transparency/public-votes. The voting calculator on www‌.consilium. europa.eu/council-eu/voting-system/voting-calculator allows you to simulate possible voting outcomes at the Council under the quali- fied majority voting system. MATERIAL FOR THE PRESS

A dedicated page for the press, www‌.consilium.europa.eu/press, gives you access to a wide range of documentation on European Council and Council activities: news, meeting agendas, background notes and press releases. Social media accounts for the press: • www‌.twitter.com/eucouncilpress • www‌.twitter.com/eucounciltvnews

VIDEOS AND PHOTOS

Audiovisual material concerning the activities of the European Council and the Council is available at: • tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu • www‌.youtube.com/user/eucouncil • www‌.flickr.com/photos/europeancouncil_meetings

SOCIAL MEDIA

For European Council news, check out the #EUCO hashtag on Twit- ter. You can find the Council on various social media platforms: • www‌.twitter.com/eucouncil • www‌.facebook.com/eucouncil • www‌.youtube.com/eucouncil • www‌.storify.com/eucouncil

PUBLICATIONS

Information brochures, leaflets, e-books, maps and posters about the European Council and the Council are available at www‌.consilium.europa.eu/documents-publications/publications, where you can download or order publications free of charge. For further information, please contact the Publication/Documenta- tion Service: • [email protected] • tel. +32 (0)2 281 19 03 Council publications can also be downloaded or ordered free of charge from the EU Bookshop: www‌.bookshop.europa.eu.

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL

The Official Journal of the EU is where Council acts are published. It is available free of charge on EUR-Lex, the European Union law portal: www.eur-lex.europa.eu.‌ LIBRARY

The Council’s central library contains monographs, reference works and EU publications. It is open to the public by appointment: • [email protected] • tel. +32 (0)2 281 65 41

VISITS

For groups of 20 people or more, the Visits Service organises visits to the Council premises and information sessions on EU policies and the role of the institutions in any of the 24 official languages of the Union. For more information: • www.consilium.europa.eu/contact/visits‌ • [email protected] • tel. +32 (0)2 281 21 40

Open Day Once a year, usually on a Saturday close to Europe Day on 9 May, the European Council and the Council, along with the other EU institutions in Brussels, open their doors to the public. As part of this event, citizens can go on guided tours of the premises.

ENQUIRIES FROM CITIZENS

The Public Information Service answers requests for information about the work of the European Council and the Council in any official language of the EU: • via the contact form at: www‌.consilium.europa.eu/contact • tel. +32 (0)2 281 56 50 • by post to: General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union Public Information Service Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 1048 Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium

INFO POINT EUROPA

Publications issued by the Council and the European Commission, such as booklets, magazines, leaflets, posters, maps, educational material, etc., are also available at Info Point Europa, open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on weekdays. The centre also organises public events and exhibi- tions. For visits and information: • Rue Archimède/Archimedesstraat 1 Rond-Point Schuman, Brussels • [email protected] • tel. +32 (0)2 296 55 55 ARCHIVES

The Council’s archives contain documents dating back more than 30 years. They may be consulted by appointment: • www‌.consilium.europa.eu/documents-publications/archives • [email protected] • tel. +32 (0)2 281 56 71

ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS

The Public Register of the Council website, register.consilium. europa.eu, contains references to over a million Council documents from 1999 onwards. More than 70% of them are directly accessible.

If the document you want to access is not available, or if you are interested in a document issued before 1999, you can submit a request for access:

• via the contact form at: register.consilium.europa.eu • by fax +32 (0)2 281 63 61 • by post to: General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union Transparency and Access to Documents Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 1048 Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium

You will receive a reply to your request within 15 working days. More information on www‌.consilium.europa.eu/documents-publications/ public-register/request-document. QC-04-14-718-EN-N

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 1048 Bruxelles/Brussel BELGIQUE/BELGIË Tel. +32 (0)2 281 61 11 www.consilium.europa.eu

This publication is produced by the General Secretariat of the Council and is intended for information purposes only. It does not involve the responsibility of the EU institutions nor the member states.