The Council of the European Union

European Institute of Public Administration - Institut européen d’administration publique

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Juan Diego Ramírez-Cárdenas Díaz Senior Lecturer – EIPA Luxembourg Intensive Training Seminar “EU Legal, Institutional and Procedural Affairs” Ankara (TR), 10-12 May 2011

learning and development - consultancy - research © DRA EIPA 2011 WHAT IS THE COUNCIL OF THE EU? AN ATTEMPT OF DEFINITION

§ European Institution or intergovernmental organ / diplomatic conference? - Intergovermental organ? - Representative of MS interests - Gathering of members of national governments - Its decisions are binding upon the MS and not upon the EU - European institution? - Workings and competences governed by the Treaties and its Rules of Procedure - Own institutional identity beyond partisan MS interests - “Socialization” amongst its members

§ The Council, an actor that exerts a diversity of different powers - Unlike what the principle of separation of powers dictates, the Council is vested with different powers and capacities: - Legislative power - Executive power - Specific prerogatives: - Budgetary authority - Conclusion of international agreements - Coordination of the economic policies of MS - etc.

§ The Council, both forum for negotiation and decision - The Council is one of the main decision-takers of the EU - The final decision of the Council is the result of negotiation of MS representatives who may sometimes uphold very diverging interests - In spite of this divergence and the possibility to vote on the basis of qualified majority voting (QMV), the Council tries as much as possible to get to an end result by consensus

§ One Council but multiple formations? - In legal terms one Council - In practice, multiple formations → response to the increasing number of policy areas under EU’s competence - No differentiation of status: any Council formation can decide upon any issue - Informal meetings and gatherings - Jumbos (two or three Council formations meeting together)

1. General Affairs (GAC) 2. External Relations (FAC) Coreper 3. Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) part 2 4. Justice and Home Affairs

5. Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs 6. Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry and Research) 7. Transport, Telecommunications and Energy part 1 8. Agriculture and Fisheries 9. Environment 10. Education, Youth and Culture

§ The Council meets in different formations according to the nature of the issues to be discussed § The number of formations has varied over time § A different list of Council configurations can be established by the European Council by qualified majority

§ Art. 16, 2 TEU: “a representative of each MS at ministerial level, who may commit the government of the MS in question and cast a vote” - Government members of sub-state entities may represent MS § if unable to attend, representation by high civil servant & delegation of vote to another MS representative § Composition of each national delegation § Participation of the COM § Assistance by the Council Secretary General (or deputy) and director of legal service

z Representation of Member States z Main decision-making body of EU

§ Council exercises (jointly with the European Parliament, in most cases) the legislative power (Art. 16, 1 TEU): - Council’s approval of Commission legislative initiatives required for them to become law (NB voting method depends on particular Treaty article as legal base) - Frames specific proposals which it wishes Commission to shape into concrete legislation, and pressurises Commission into making proposals through resolutions § Council exercises (jointly with the European Parliament) the budgetary power

§ Council controls the Commission in the adoption of executive measures: - Delegated acts (Art. 290 TFEU) - Implementing Acts (Art. 291 TFEU) § Other prerogatives - Conclusion of international agreements (Art. 37 TEU, Art. 218 TFEU) - Coordination of economic policies of MS (Art. 16 TEU) - Request to the COM to undertake studies (Art. 241 TFEU) - Determination of the financial status of members of EU institutions (Art. 243 TFEU) - Specific responsibilities in foreign policy and in the area of freedom security and justice

§ Responsible for a number of duties: - Driving force of the Council’s work - It establishes a work programme and agenda of meetings - It ensures that the rules of procedure are properly applied and that discussions are conducted in a businesslike manner - It determines the duration of discussions and request common positions and written contributions - It can also represent the Council before the European Parliament § Up until the Treaty of Lisbon, the Presidency of the Council corresponded to a new MS every six months on a rotating basis

§ Foreign Affairs - High Representative

§ Other configurations to be decided by the European Council by QMV (Art. 236 TFEU & Declaration on Article 16(9) of the TEU concerning the European Council on the exercise of the Presidency of the Council)

§ What happens with the traditional figure of the rotating Presidency?

§ According to Declaration 9: - Team Presidencies will be composed of 3 MS - Each will have a duration of 18 months - The composition of the groups must take account of the diversity of the Member States and geographical balance within the EU - This team will establish a common presidency programme for the 18 months in office - Delegation (not sharing) of the chairs of some configurations, committees and working groups

2010 Spain 2013 Ireland 2016 Netherlands Belgium Lithuania Slovakia 2011 Hungary 2014 Greece 2017 Malta

Poland Italy UK 2012 Denmark 2015 Latvia 2018 Estonia Cyprus Luxembourg Bulgaria

§ Role of the Council Secretariat - Council‘s administrative structure in Brussels (Directorate Generals + Legal Service) - Support to the Presidency: - Logistical and organizational support - Legal support - Support in the search of consensus - Some tasks / parts of the Secretariat will be moved into the European External Action Service § The Secretary-General is no longer the High Representative for CFSP - Pierre de Boissieu (till now Deputy SG) until 2011

- Then Uwe Corsepius (DE) © DRA - EIPA 2011 The HRUFASP - VP The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission

Baroness Catherine Ashton

© DRA - EIPA 2011 High Representative of assisted by a the Union for Foreign European Vice-President Affairs and Security External Policy Action European Commission Chair Foreign Affairs Council Service

‘shall conduct the Union’s CFSP/CSDP’ …‘shall ensure the consistency of the Union’s external action … be responsible chairs Foreign Affairs Council within the Commission for responsibilities incumbent on it in external relations’ …conduct political dialogue with third parties and shall express the Union’s DG DG DG DG position at int. conferences AIDCO ECHO Relex Dev Enlg. Trade

…coordinate action in int. orgs and …joint proposal from HR & int. conferences (inc. UNSC) Commission for econ. sanctions

…Union delegations under HR © DRA - EIPA 2011 WORKING STRUCTURE OF THE COUNCIL. THE INTERNAL DECISION MAKING PROCESS

§ COM proposal → General Secretariat of the Council → Permanent Representations → National administrations → Meeting of the corresponding working party of the Council

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MS Representatives at Ministerial Level

A or B point LS - L/LE*

Antici II - COREPER - I Mertens MS Ambassadors Deputies

Attaché Group I or II point WORKING GROUP MS Officials (plus Attaché)

General Secretariat Presidency (Coreper) Proposal © DRA - EIPA 2011 WORKING PARTIES OF THE COUNCIL

§ Permanent, temporary and ad hoc working parties § Circa. 160 § Composition: representatives of MS, COM & General Secretariat of the Council § Type of work: - Discussion structure through tour de tables - Desire of technical perfection. Attention to the detail - No voting but mere counting of positions § Results: to COREPER or new meeting of party

COREPER Permanent Representatives Committee (Parts I and II)

CFSP Committee on Internal Security Political & Article 36 Strategic Economic & Special Security Committee Committee Financial Committee on Committee (CATS) on Immigration, Committee Agriculture (PSC/COPS) Frontiers and Asylum (SCIFA) Econ. Policy Article 133 Committee Committee Military Committee Fin. Services Employment Committee Committee CIVCOM Social Protection Committee

§ Tasks (Art. 240,1 TFEU): - It is responsible for preparing the work of the Council and for carrying out the tasks assigned to it by the latter - It ensures the consistency of the EU's policies and actions and sees to it that a number of fundamental EU principles and rules (i.e. legality, proportionality, subsidiarity, etc.) are observed - It takes a number of procedural decisions (whether to hold a public debate or not, whether to make the results of vote public, etc.)

§ Composition: - COREPER II: Permanent Representatives (ambassadors) - COREPER I: Deputy Permanent Representatives (plenipotentiary ministers) § Division of policy areas between the two: - COREPER II: General Affairs, External Relations, Enlargement issues, Economic and Financial Affairs, Justice and Home Affairs, institutional matters, preparation of meetings of European Council - COREPER I: Internal Market, Social Policy, Environment, Consumer protection, etc § Weekly meetings

§ Agenda: Points I and II § Type of work: - “Open” discussions - Socialisation / “esprit de corps” - Consensus: no voting but mere counting of positions § Results: - the dossier is forwarded again to the working party - New COREPER meeting - Dossier goes to the Council’s agenda as point A or B § Preparatory Instances: Antici & Mertens / Briefings © DRA - EIPA 2011 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

§ Convocation and venue of meetings : - Art. 237 TFEU: “it shall meet when convened by its President on his own initiative, or at the request of one of its members or of the COM” - Fixing of provisional calendar of meetings 7 months in advance - Venue: Brussels (Justus Lipsius) and Luxembourg (April, June & October) § Composition (cf. supra)

§ Arrangement of delegations around the Council table § Agenda: Points A, B and “Other Business” § Progress of the meetings: - Tour de table - Inclusion in the agenda of additional points - Approval of the agenda - Approval of points A - Examination and discussion of points B

§ Negotiation instruments: - Confessionals - breaks / lunch breaks - tour de table - Restraint or super restraint meetings - Indicative votes - Reserves - “Stopping the clock” - Package deals

§ Voting modality not a choice of the Council but established in the legal base § Quorum and delegation of vote § Different voting rules - Simple majority: for the decision of procedural questions - Qualified majority voting (QMV) - Unanimity: possibility of veto / abstentions do not obstruct unanimity

§ Qualified Majority Voting: - Most frequent voting modality - Underlying principle: QMV should represent a reasonable majority of EU’s population - Problem: progressive decline of QMV representation in population terms: - QMV in EU of 9 MS: 70.62% population - QMV in EU of 15 MS: 58.16% population

§ Weighting of the votes in QMV according to the Nice Treaty: - Problem to solve: - progressive lack of correspondence between QMV and a reasonable majority of EU’s population - Last enlargements: increase of the number of small MS. With the former weighting, QMV: 50.29% of EU’s population - Adopted solution: - re-weighting of the votes, in favor of big MS - Three conditions are required to adopt an act: QMV + majority of MS + demographic check - Nice system will continue to apply until 1 November 2014

© DRA - EIPA 2011 Pop. Votes Germany 82.0 29 Qualified-Majority Voting France 64.4 29 UK 61.6 29 in EU 27* Italy 60.0 29 (Council and comitology) Spain 45.8 27 Poland 38.1 27 Romania 21.5 14 The votes must be cast by a Netherlands 16.5 13 majority of Member States Greece 11.3 12 Belgium 10.8 12 (2/3 of Member States if not on Portugal 10.6 12 Commission proposal) Czech Rep. 10.5 12 Hungary 10.0 12 Sweden 9.3 10 Qualified majority of votes Austria 8.4 10 is 255 (= 73.9% of votes) 10 Bulgaria 7.6 (min. population represented by Denmark 5.5 7 Slovakia 5.4 7 winning coalition = c. 58%) Finland 5.3 7 Blocking minority is 91 Ireland 4.5 7 Lithuania 3.3 7 Latvia 2.3 4 A Member State may request Slovenia 2.0 4 verification that the qualified Estonia 1.3 4 majority of votes represents Cyprus 0.8 4 Luxembourg 0.5 4 62% of population (308 mn.) Malta 0.4 3 © DRA - EIPA 2011 EU 27 499.7 345 * figures for 2010 VOTING CALCULATOR. EXAMPLE OF A VOTING RESULT

§ TEU new Article 16 01/11/14 - at least 55% of Member States, comprising at least 15 of them and representing at least 65% of EU’s population (blocking minority must be of at least 4 countries) § Protocol on transitional provisions (from 1/11/14 to 31/03/17): a MS may request application of Nice system in specific cases

§ Declaration No.7: if members of the Council representing 75% of population and 75% of the MS necessary to constitute a blocking minority indicate their opposition to the Council adopting an act by QMV, the Council will continue to discuss the issue.

§ The deliberations of the Council are covered by the obligation of professional secrecy; they are not public. § Exceptions: -Deliberation on legislative acts submitted by the Commission -Discussions on important issues relating to the interests of the EU may also be made public. § Where the Council acts in a legislative capacity, results of votes, explanations of votes and statements are in principle made public. § Not all Council acts are public. Only the following are published Official Journal: -Regulations, directives and decisions -International agreements -For acts in CFSP, it is decided on a case by case basis

§ The responsibility for enlargement corresponds to: - the Working Party on Enlargement and Countries negotiating Accession to the EU - COREPER II - General Affairs Council - Input of other Council formations in specific issues of negotiation § Role on the enlargement process: - receives application, considers the request and asks opinion form the Commission - gives negotiation mandate to the Commission - adopts European partnerships / SAAs / Accession Partnerships - political guidance and assessment of progress of each candidate - approves draft Accession Treaty - budgetary authority together with the EU © DRA - EIPA 2011 THE COUNCIL OF THE EU AND THE ENLARGEMENT PROCESS

§ In the case of Turkey, - March 2001, Council adopts Accession Partnership with Turkey (last revised partnership, February 2008) - October 2005, the Council adopts the Negotiation Framework with Turkey

We would be happy to help.

Juan Diego Ramírez-Cárdenas Díaz [email protected]