The European Council and The Council of the European Union Christina Schwarzenbacher

≠ ≠ Definition European Council (Political institution) ≠ Council of the European Union = Council of Ministers = The Council (legislative institution) ≠ Council of Europe

The European Council

The European Council - History Created early 1970s (“Library Group”) Informally institutionalized 1974 First acknowledged by the Single European Act 1986 Officially an institution since the Lisbon Treaty

The European Council - Members Heads of State and Government President of the European Council Hermann Van Rompuy President of the Commission José Manuel Barroso Attending: High Representative for Foreign Affairs* Catherine Ashton

The European Council – The President Hermann Van Rompuy Elected for 2 ½ years (qualified majority) Functions: Chair meetings of the European Council (at least twice every 6 months) and the Euro summits Maintain continuity of work Represent the European Council in inter- institutional discussions Draw up conclusions from the meetings and issue a report to the European Parliament

The European Council – Functions & Dysfunctions General political guidance Oversight of Treaty reform and enlargement Foreign Policy making Decision maker of last resort (HR-decisions*) Policy monitoring Dysfunctions: Overload Over-optimism Over-cautiousness Over-expectation

The European Council – The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy* 1st High Representative: Catherine Ashton Appointed by the European Council Qualified majority 5 year-term Functions: Chairing the Foreign Policy Council Attending European Council meetings Serving as a Vice-President of the Commission Representing the EU externally and conducting high-level diplomacy

youtube Herman Van Rompuy explains: What is the European Council? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC6R3Qs9lqI

The Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union Consists of national representatives Legally: 1 Council Reality: Variety of councils depending on the topic Location: Brussels, except for April, June and October -> Luxembourg Hierarchy: - the ministers Council - Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) - Working groups - General Secretariat

The Council of the European Union – Formations General Affairs Foreign Affairs (Common Foreign and Security Policy) chaired by the High Representative* Economic and Financial Affairs Agriculture and Fisheries Justice and Home Affairs Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Competitiveness Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Environment Education, Youth and Culture Except for the Foreign Affairs council, all meetings are chaired by the relevant minister of the country (October 2013: Lithuania) holding the rotating EU presidency.

The Council of the European Union – Voting Systems Until October 2014: Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) as the rule: Majority of the 28 member countries vote in favour + at least 260 of the possible 352 votes are cast Unanimity necessary for key areas: tax, social security, foreign policy, common defense, operational police co-operation, language rules, location of EU institutions From November 2014 on: new QMV (double majority voting): Majority (55%) of countries (at least 15) + majority of the total EU population (the countries in favour must represent at least 65% of the EU population) (four member states can form a blocking minority (actual voting is rare because of the culture of consensus)

The Council of the European Union – COREPER COREPER as a preparatory body for the Council of the European Union. COREPER I made up of deputy permanent representatives responsible for “technical” councils COREPER II made up of the ambassadors Responsible for GAC, the Foreign Affairs Council, ECOFIN Weekly meetings De facto decision-making body Intergovernmental body vs supranational body

The Council of the European Union- working groups ~170 expert groups + sub-committees Network of national officials who specialize in specific areas Agenda: pre-solve as much technical detail as possible; almost no political consideration Agreements are reached on the basis of convincing arguments, not political weight or bargaining skills.

The Council of the European Union- Current Challenges Enlargement: Impairs quality of negotiations/makes it harder to negotiate Increased workload on Coreper and the Working Groups It gets harder for new members to get accustomed to EU’s normative environment. Enhanced cooperation Can lead to an advanced integration but also to a Europe of two paces. Challenges the principal of equality. Transparency Needed to gain the trust of the citizens Can lead to bargaining breakdowns, because domestic audiences have to be satisfied

Overview How do the institutions work together?

Overview – How do the institutions work together Overview – How do the institutions work together? The Ordinary Legislative Procedure

Overview – How do the institutions work together Overview – How do the institutions work together? National Authorities and Implementation Legally binding legislative instruments: Decisions: The European Court of Justices interprets EU law, its decisions are final and binding to the parties. Directives: The member states have to decide how to incorporate the directives into national law. Regulations are directly applicable in all member states. No incorporation required.

youtube The EU institutions explained by their Presidents: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0diZ48_q7U 01:02 The European Council 01:39 The Commission 02:25 The Council of the European Union 03:08 The European Parliament 04:10 What is your role as a President? 06:05 What is special about your institution? 07:58 What is your vision for Europe?

Thank you for the Attention!