Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union was initially founded as the “Special Council”, within the framework of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), by the Paris Treaty in 1952. Today, it is a core institution of the European Union, consisting of the competent national Ministers of all Member- States, representing their national governments.

The role of the Council of the European Union consists in five overarching operations. First of all, based on the proposals drafted by the European Commission, it negotiates and adopts legislative acts, in cooperation with the European Parliament, through the ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision), only on areas where the EU has exclusive or shared competence with the Member-States. Furthermore, the Council is responsible for coordinating specific fields of policies among the Member- States, in areas that do not lie within the exclusive competence of the Union (including but not limited to economic policy, education, culture, youth and sport or employment). The third operation refers to the development the EU’s common foreign and security policy, based on the guidelines of the European Council. The EU Council works with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy towards the unity, consistency and effectiveness of the Union’s external action. In addition, the Council concludes international agreements negotiated between the Commission and non-Member States. Last but not least, it is in the Council’s mandate to adopt the EU budget alongside with the Parliament.

The Presidency of the EU Council rotates every 6 months among the Member-States. The Presidency is responsible for the establishing of the agenda and the priorities of the Union for the following months. From July to December 2019, Finland will hold the Presidency of the Council.