OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY 2020 at the European Council and the Council of the European Union Council of the European Union OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY AT THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION CONTENTS Who we are The European Council, 3 As European Union (EU) policies The Council of the European Union, 4 ultimately shape many aspects The Council Presidency, 5 of the lives of around 445 million The General Secretariat of the Council, 6 citizens, it is crucial that EU — decisions be taken as openly and The Europa building, 7 as closely as possible to them. Open communication Online resources, 8 Since many of these decisions Live engagement, 9 are legally binding for EU Member States and citizens, Transparent people need to be able to access decision-making clear information on how and why A Europe closer to its citizens, 10 European legislation is adopted. Online access: documents, 11 Online access: meetings, 12 3 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // WHO WE ARE The European Council The European Council is the EU institution that sets the general direction and priorities of the Union. It represents the highest level of political cooperation between the Member States. Your Prime Minister, President or Chancellor meets in Brussels with the other national leaders, along with the President of the European Council and the President of the Commission, at least once every two to three months. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, chairs the meetings of the European Council and drives forward its work. Flags of the EU Member States in the Europa building. 4 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // WHO WE ARE The Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union – also known as the Council – is a key EU decision-maker. It consists of the representatives of the governments of the EU Member States. Your national ministers and experts from national ministries come together in Brussels to adopt EU laws and the EU budget, together with the European Parliament. Economic and Financial Affairs Council. 5 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // WHO WE ARE 2019 Romania The Council Finland er Presidency t Dec es m 2020 Croatia e N Jan s d The Council Presidency rotates n 2 Germany among the EU Member States, – O F changing every six months. y n a 2021 Portugal m It organises and chairs r C e S M meetings of the Council r o G 2020 a Slovenia and draws up compromises t i a to facilitate decision-making. – 1 2022 France A A s t Germany currently holds s e m the Council Presidency until e Jul M Czech Republic s the end of December 2020. t e r It will be followed by Portugal Jun in January 2021 and then by 2023 Sweden Slovenia in July 2021. Spain 6 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // WHO WE ARE The General Secretariat of the Council The General Secretariat of the Council supports the work of both the European Council and the Council, mainly by providing policy and legal advice, translation into 24 languages and logistical support for the organisation of meetings. It is based in Brussels with around 3 000 staff members recruited from all over the EU. Buildings of the European Council and the Council of the European Union. 7 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // WHO WE ARE Europa building The Europa building is the main seat of the European Council Room S3 and the Council of the EU. Room S3, located on the Located in the EU district third floor of the Europa of Brussels, it is a cube-shaped building, is the iconic structure with a lantern-shaped room where EU leaders space at its heart. meet during European Councils. The facade, a patchwork of restored window frames, is a reminder of the EU motto ‘United in diversity’: every window frame is different, but they are all made of the same wood (oak). For further information please visit the Council website. 8 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // OPEN COMMUNICATION OPEN COMMUNICATION Online resources Through the Council website, we communicate → Press releases and meeting → The results of Council voting proactively on the way in which decisions are made information from the Council on EU legislation and throughout their various stages in the European of the EU, the European a voting calculator that Council and the Council of the EU. Council and the Eurogroup you can use to simulate the outcome of a vote (also Most of the pages on the Council website are → Information on the presidents available as an application available in all the EU languages. of the European Council for your mobile devices) and of the Eurogroup You can also sign up for our email alert service. and their activities, statements → The latest developments in This enables you to create your own personalised and speeches and background information subscription so that the content of your choice on major EU initiatives is delivered directly to your mailbox. → Streaming of public under discussion in the discussions on EU legislation, Council press statements by ministers and heads of state, and press → Access to the Council library conferences resources and the Council archives for documents → A wide range of Council dating back more than publications on EU policies, 30 years information and guides on EU procedures, as well → Ask questions you may as clarification of different have about the work of the aspects of EU legislation Council and the European Council in any of the 24 official EU languages. Our dedicated service will reply to you, in your (EU) native language, The Council’s decision-making process explained. within 15 working days. 9 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // OPEN COMMUNICATION Live engagement → We also aim to engage with persons or groups impacted by or interested in our activities. → These include citizens, the media, schools and academia, policy-makers from all levels of government (EU, national, regional, local), civil society and other interest groups. The Visitors’ Centre Step inside the iconic Europa building and learn about the work of the Council at the Visitors’ Centre. EU Open Day Join the thousands of visitors who come to visit us every May for the EU Open Day. Simulation game Step into the shoes of national ministers for a role-playing game: present your position and negotiate with the other EU countries. A group of students visiting the Europa Building. 10 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // TRANSPARENT DECISION-MAKING TRANSPARENT DECISION-MAKING We provide information on EU laws and Transparency of the Council’s work is an how decisions are taken in the Council important goal of the German EU Council as openly and as quickly as possible. Presidency. The German Presidency builds on the work done by the previous Council The rotating Presidency of the Council Presidencies and the decisions taken in COREPER of the EU also plays a key role in ensuring to strengthen transparency. the openness and transparency of the Council’s work. EU2020DE communicates pro-actively with the public about the work of the Council through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, including live streaming of meetings, agendas, documents, etc. Meetings of stakeholders with the German Permanent Representative and Deputy Permanent Representative are accessible on the website of the German Permanent Representation to the EU. Logo of the German Presidency. Moreover, the German EU Council Presidency does not accept sponsorship. Read more about that and the commitment to sustainability on www.eu2020.de. 11 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // TRANSPARENT DECISION-MAKING Online access: documents Official Council documents related to EU legislation are available in the Council’s public register of documents. About 80 % of these documents are immediately accessible online. You may apply for access to any of the remaining 20 %. These documents are made public, subject to exceptions laid down under the EU rules on transparency. The Council has a policy on open data. Information is free to use and re-use, provided the source is acknowledged. Data sets are available on the EU Open Data Portal. How to find Council documents. 12 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY // TRANSPARENT DECISION-MAKING Online access: meetings The Council always meets in public when discussing draft legislation. You can You can download the follow live sessions agendas of all Council of Council debates meetings and of the and votes on legislative Committee of Permanent acts (in all EU languages). Representatives (Coreper) – which prepares the Council’s You can follow live or work. recorded briefings given by your political leaders and their The rules of procedure public statements made of the European Council at the Council. and the Council set out basic rules for meetings, You can consult or download including voting rules, which the conclusions of European sessions should be public, Council meetings from our when documents should be General Affairs Council, public session, 15 July 2020. website, in any of the published, etc. EU languages. More information on the activities and work of the Council is available here. Council of the European Union Rue de la Loi • Wetstraat 175 This publication is produced by the Cover, pages 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9: 1048 Bruxelles • Brussel General Secretariat of the Council and Europa building: © Philippe Samyn Belgique • België is intended for information purposes and Partners architects and engineers only. It does not involve the responsibility – lead and design partner, Tel. +32 (0)2 281 61 11 of the EU institutions or the member Studio Valle Progettazioni architects, — states. Buro Happold engineers; www.consilium.europa.eu Colour compositions: — Although we make every effort to ensure © Georges Meurant, 2016. that links in this publication are accurate /eucouncil and up to date, the EU institutions cannot Photo on page 6: take responsibility for links failing to work © Quentin Olbrechts.