European Union Presidencies / Council

Council of the European Union
The Council plays a key role in the decision making process of the European Union. It has the main role in passing legislation, although in recent years this has been shared more and more with the European Parliament.  When the Council acts as a legislator, it is the European Commission that makes proposals. The Council can modify the proposals before adopting them.

The Council is composed of ministers representing each of the member States. Each minister is empowered to commit his or her government and is accountable to his/her own national parliament for decisions made in the Council.

Depending on matters under discussion, the Council meets in different configurations within which each country is represented by the minister responsible for that subject. The nine Council configurations are:

• General Affairs and External Relations
• Economic and Financial Affairs ("ECOFIN")
• Justice and Home Affairs
• Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
• Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry and Research)
• Transport, Telecommunications and Energy
• Agriculture and Fisheries
• Environment
• Education, Youth and Culture

The Council has six key responsibilities:

• To pass European laws. In many fields it legislates jointly with the European Parliament. 
• To coordinate the broad economic olicies of the member states. This co-ordination is carried out by the Economics and Finance Ministers, who collectively form the ECOFIN Council.
• To conclude international agreements between the EU and one or more states or international organizations.
• To approve the EU's budget, jointly with the European Parliament.
• To develop the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.
• To co-ordinate co-operation between the national courts and police forces in criminal matters.

Presidency of the Council of the European Union

The Council is presided over for a period of six months (from January to June, and from July to December) by each member state in turn, in accordance with a pre-established rota.

The Presidency of the Council plays an essential role in organizing the work of the institution, particularly in promoting legislative and political decisions. It is responsible for organizing and chairing all meetings, including the many working groups, and for brokering compromises.

Presidency order of rotation:

The World Bank and the Council of the European Union

There have been some informal consultations between the World Bank and the Council on an ad hoc basis, notably through senior Bank officials participating in Council meetings.  Furthermore, there have been contacts at working level including the provision of information and exchanges of views with specific working groups and the General Secretariat. The World Bank also holds ad hoc consultations with each EU Presidency on its development priorities.