http://www.consilium.europa.eu/showPage.aspx?id=242&lang=ro

THE COUNCIL

The Council is a single body, but for reasons relating to the organisation of its work, it meets – according to the subject being discussed – in different "configurations", which are attended by the Ministers from the Member States and the European Commissioners responsible for the areas concerned. In the 1990s there were 22 configurations; this was reduced to 16 in June 2000 and then to 9 in June 2002. However, there remains a single Council in that, regardless of the Council configuration that adopts a decision, that decision is always a Council decision and no mention is made of the configuration. The Council's seat is in Brussels, where it meets several times a month (meetings are held in Luxembourg in April, June and October).

Council decisions are prepared by a structure of some 250 working parties and committees comprising delegates from the Member States. They resolve technical issues and forward the dossier to the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper), made up of the Member States' ambassadors to the European Union, which ensures consistency in the work and resolves technical-political questions before submitting the dossier to the Council.

The Council takes decisions by a vote of Ministers from the Member States. There are three types of vote depending on the Treaty provisions for the subject being dealt with: simple majority (for procedural decisions), qualified majority (a weighted voting system based on the populations of Member States; used for many decisions concerning the internal market, economic affairs and trade) and unanimity (for foreign policy, defence, judicial and police cooperation, and taxation).

In a great majority of cases, the Council takes decisions on a proposal from the European Commission and in association with the European Parliament, either through the consultation procedure (e.g. in the areas of agriculture, judicial and police cooperation, and taxation) or through codecision (e.g. the internal market).

The Council is the main decision-making body of the European Union

The ministers of the Member States meet within the Council of the European Union. Depending on the issue on the agenda, each country will be represented by the minister responsible for that subject (foreign affairs, finance, social affairs, transport, agriculture, etc.).

The presidency of the Council is held for six months by each Member State on a rotational basis.

The Council is responsible for decision-making and co-ordinationThe Council of the European Union passes laws, usually legislating jointly with the European Parliament.The Council co-ordinates the broad economic policies of the Member States.The Council defines and implements the EU’s common foreign and security policy, based on guidelines set by the European Council.The Council concludes, on behalf of the Community and the Union, international agreements between the EU and one or more states or international organisations.

The Council co-ordinates the actions of Member States and adopts measures in the area of police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters.The Council and the European Parliament constitute the budgetary authority that adopts the Community’s budget.

The acts of the Council

The acts of the Council can take the form of regulations, directives, decisions, common actions or common positions, recommendations or opinions.

The Council can also adopt conclusions, declarations or resolutions.

When the Council acts as a legislator, in principle it is the European Commission that makes proposals. These are examined within the Council, which can make modifications before adopting them.

The European Parliament is an active participant in this legislative process. On a broad range of issues, Community legislation is adopted jointly by the Parliament and the Council using a procedure known as «co-decision».

The number of votes each Member State can cast is set by the Treaties. The Treaties also define cases in which a simple majority, qualified majority or unanimity are required

A qualified majority will be reached if the following two conditions are met:if a majority of Member States approve (in some cases a two-thirds majority);a minimum of 255 votes is cast in favour of the proposal, out of a total of 345 votes.

In addition, a Member State may ask for confirmation that the votes in favour represent at least 62% of the total population of the Union. If this is found not to be the case, the decision will not be adopted.

Distribution of votes for each Member State

Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom29

Spain, Poland27Romania14

Netherlands13

Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Portugal12

Austria, Bulgaria, Sweden10

Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Finland7

Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Slovenia4

Malta3

TOTAL345

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is held in turn by each Member State

The Council is presided 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 organising the work of the institution, particularly in promoting legislative and political decisions. It is responsible for organising and chairing all meetings, including the many working groups, and for brokering compromises.

http://www.se2009.eu/

Human Rights in the EU’s External Relations

“The Presidency will work to strengthen the EU’s role as a global actor with a clear agenda for peace, development, democracy and human rights. (…)

International law, human rights, democracy and rule of law should permeate work under the EU common foreign and security policy.”

- Work programme for the Swedish Presidency of the EU1 July – 31 December 2009

Human rights are at the centre of the European Union’s external action. Promoting the respect for human rights is a priority of the 2009 Swedish Presidency of the EU Council of

Ministers.

The Swedish Presidency attaches importance to the implementation and development of the EU’s growing portfolio in the area of human rights. Particular focus will be put on effective

implementation of the broad range of existing instruments the EU has at its disposal. Carrying out human rights dialogues and consultations, practical implementation of the guidelines and promoting substantive work in multilateral fora such as the UN Human

Rights Council and the UN General Assembly will all be central tasks. Further efforts will be made to mainstream human rights into in the EU’s external action as a whole. Efforts

will be made to strengthen the EU’s work on democracy-building. The Presidency will seek to achieve greater visibility for EU policy in the area of human rights.

Mainstreaming of human rights and cooperation with civil society

The central importance attached to human rights in the European Union’s external action entails that human rights are to be integrated in all aspects of the Union’s work in the area,

such as crisis management, trade and bilateral relations.

The Swedish Presidency and the European Commission will hold the annual EU NGO Human Rights Forum in Stockholm on 6-7 July, focusing on violence against children,

within the broader context of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the EU’s guidelines on the rights of the child. The conclusions from the forum

will be an important input to strengthening the EU’s work in the area.

The Swedish Presidency will attach great importance to ensuring full cooperation and information-sharing with civil society on human rights dialogues, multilateral work and

human rights guidelines as well as on other aspects of the Union’s work in the area.

Multilateral work

The European Union is a committed actor in international multilateral work on human rights. The UN, the Council of Europe and the OSCE are central fora. The Swedish

Presidency will continue the EU’s efforts in the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly to uphold respect for established human rights norms. The EU will continue to promote the role of the two fora to address human rights issues in an effective manner,

including thematic issues, capacity-building on human rights, as well as to address serious human rights situations, including country-specific situations. At the Human Rights

Council, the protection of the independence and effectiveness of thematic and country-specific reporting mandates will be a priority. Promoting cross-regional cooperation will be

of key importance.

The Presidency will give special emphasis to important milestones such as 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Discrimination against Women and the

20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Human rights dialogues

The EU has established human rights dialogues and consultations with a large number of countries, including Canada, China, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United States of

America. A dialogue has also been initiated with the African Union. The Swedish Presidency will aim to lead those dialogues and consultations that take place during the

second half of 2009 toward practical results on the basis of open and forthright discussion.

Human rights guidelines

In order to further direct its work on human rights, the EU has adopted seven sets of guidelines on individual thematic issues:

death penaltytorture

human rights dialogueschildren and armed conflict

human rights defendersrights of the child

violence against and discrimination of women

The implementation of the guidelines combines the monitoring of individual cases and events with specific strategies on work with regard to individual countries. The Swedish

Presidency will maintain a high level of activity in implementing the guidelines, exploring means to add further efficiency.

The General Affairs Council is, together with the Agriculture Council and the Ecofin Council, one of the oldest configurations of the Council. Since June 2002, as the General Affairs and External Relations Council, it holds separate meetings on General Affairs and on External Relations respectively. It meets once a month.

Meetings bring together the Foreign Ministers of Member States. Ministers responsible for European Affairs, Defence, Development or Trade also participate depending on the items on agenda.

- General Affairs

At its sessions on General Affairs, the Council deals with dossiers that affect more than one of the Union's policies, such as negotiations on EU enlargement, preparation of the Union's multi–annual budgetary perspective or institutional and administrative issues. It co–ordinates preparation for and follow-up to meetings of the European Council. It also exercises a role in co–ordinating work on different policy areas carried out by the Council's other configurations, and handles any dossier entrusted to it by the European Council.

- External Relations

At its sessions on External Relations, the Council deals with the whole of the Union's external action, including common foreign and security policy, European security and defence policy, foreign trade and development cooperation. A priority in recent years for the Council, in cooperation with the Commission, has been to ensure coherence in the EU's external action across the range of instruments at the Union's disposal.Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)

The principles and objectives of the CFSP are to safeguard the common values, fundamental interests, independence and integrity of the Union, in conformity with the principles of the UN Charter; to strengthen the security of the Union in all ways; to preserve peace and strengthen the

international community, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter; to promote international cooperation; and to develop and consolidate democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Under the CFSP, the Council adopts Joint Actions and Common Positions. It normally takes decisions by unanimity. The Council also adopts conclusions on the main issues in discussion.

The Council is also responsible for the European Security and Defence Policy. Defence Ministers traditionally participate in GAERC meetings twice a year, in addition to their informal meetings (also twice a year).

The Secretary-General of the Council/High Representative for the CFSP participates in General Affairs and External Relations Council meetings and plays a key role in the formulation, preparation and implementation of the CFSP.

In the field of CFSP, the Political and Security Committee (PSC) helps define policies by drawing up opinions for the Council, without prejudice to the role of the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) in preparing Council sessions. The PSC also exercises, under the responsibility of the Council, political control and strategic direction of crisis management operations.Foreign Trade Policy

The European Union is the leading player in international trade –accounting for one fifth of total world trade – and has built up a world–wide network of trade relations. Successive enlargements of the EU and the consolidation of the single market have strengthened its position, both in bilateral negotiations with third countries and multilateral negotiations within the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The WTO is a focal point of EU trade policy. The promotion of trade in a fair and rules–based multilateral environment for the benefit of the international community is an essential element of EU policy.

In trade policy, the Commission, mandated by the Council and in consultation with a Council committee of high–level trade officials called the "Article 133 Committee", has responsibility for negotiating and managing trade agreements involving tariff amendments, customs and trade provisions and protective measures. In this field, the Council decides by qualified majority In other areas, such as investments, intellectual property and the provision of services, or where non–trade matters are also involved, competence is shared, and both the Community and the Member States have responsibility for concluding agreements.

Within the WTO, the Commission negotiates on behalf of the Community and represents the Member States in the settlement of disputes.Development cooperation

Community policy on development co–operation is aimed at complementing the development policies pursued by the Member States. Its main objectives are the sustainable economic and social development of developing countries, in particular that of the most disadvantaged amongst

them, as well as the smooth and gradual integration of developing countries into the world economy and the eradication of poverty in those countries. At the same time, Community policy on development co–operation is aimed at reinforcing democracy and the rule of law, and promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Council enacts legislation in this field by qualified majority and in co–decision with the European Parliament.

The main emphasis in Community development co–operation policy is on co–operation with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States. The ACP–EC Partnership Agreement, signed at Cotonou in 2000, sets out the framework for the Community's trade relations and development co–operation with these countries.

The European Union (Community and Member States) is the world's largest provider of development aid. Community aid is administered by the Commission, and is funded either through the Community budget or through the European Development Fund, a special fund dedicated to development in the ACP States. The EU is also the leading partner of many developing countries in terms of trade and direct investments.

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council is, together with the Agriculture Council and the General Affairs Council, one of the oldest configurations of the Council. It is commonly known as the Ecofin Council, or simply "Ecofin" and is composed of the Economics and Finance Ministers of the Member States, as well as Budget Ministers when budgetary issues are discussed. It meets once a month.

The Ecofin Council covers EU policy in a number of areas including: economic policy coordination, economic surveillance, monitoring of Member States' budgetary policy and public finances, the euro (legal, practical and international aspects), financial markets and capital movements and economic relations with third countries. It decides mainly by qualified majority, in consultation or codecision with the European Parliament, with the exception of fiscal matters which are decided by unanimity.

The Ecofin Council also prepares and adopts every year, together with the European Parliament, the budget of the European Union which is about 100 billion euros.

The Eurogroup, composed of the Member States whose currency is the euro, meets normally the day before the Ecofin meeting and deals with issues relating to the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). It is an informal body which is not a configuration of the Council.

When the Ecofin Council examines dossiers related to the euro and EMU, the representatives of the Member States whose currency is not the euro do not take part in the vote of the Council.

The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council brings together Justice ministers and Interior ministers about once every two months to discuss the development and implementation of

cooperation and common policies in this sector. The creation of an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, is a key aim of the EU Treaty. Most of the matters in this field are decided by unanimity with a consultation of the European Parliament. Some matters however (visas issues and judicial cooperation in civil matters) are decided by qualified majority, in consultation or in codecision with the European Parliament, depending on the matter.

Member States began to cooperate in the area of Justice and Home Affairs in the mid-1970s on an informal, intergovernmental basis outside the Community framework. In 1990, Germany, France and the Benelux countries signed the Schengen Agreement, which was an important step toward cooperation among the Member States in this area. In the following years, several Member States acceded to the Schengen Agreement. The aim of the agreement was to introduce genuine freedom of movement of persons without being controlled at internal borders, while providing for flanking measures in the fields of external border controls, visa policy, police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

The Treaty on European Union, which entered into force in November 1993, took a further step by incorporating Justice and Home Affairs in its institutional framework, thereby adding a further dimension to the construction of Europe.

The entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty in May 1999 incorporated the Schengen rules into the institutional framework of the European Union. One of the main objectives of the Treaty is to maintain and develop the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice, in which there would be free movement for persons combined with suitable measures pertaining to the control of external borders, asylum, immigration, as well as the prevention and combating of crime.

It should be noted that Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland do not participate fully in a number of JHA matters or participate under certain conditions. In particular, the United Kingdom and Ireland do not take part in the Schengen rules on free movement of persons, external border controls and visa policy. The representatives of these States therefore do not vote on these matters in the Council.

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) is composed of employment, social protection, consumer protection, health and equal opportunities ministers, who meet around four times a year.

It is the task of the European Community to raise the standard of living and quality of life of its citizens, notably through high-quality jobs and high levels of social protection, health protection and protection of consumers' interests, while at the same time guaranteeing equal opportunities for all its citizens.

In these fields, the Council usually decides by qualified majority, acting together with the European Parliament under the codecision procedure (social security is an exception: here the Council acts unanimously). It adopts European rules to harmonise or coordinate national laws, in particular on working conditions (workers' health and safety, social security, employee participation in the running of companies), strengthening of national policies to prevent illness and combat the major health scourges and protection of consumers' rights.

Since employment and social protection polices remain the responsibility of the Member States, the Community's contribution is confined to setting common objectives for all the Member States, analysing measures taken at national level and adopting recommendations to the Member States.

Within the Council, and in particular in the framework of the Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee, Member States can exchange ideas and information or share the results of their own experiences.

Since June 2002 these three policies have been placed under the sole responsibility of a single Council configuration which meets approximately every two months. The composition of the Council varies according to the items on the agenda (Ministers for Transport, Telecommunications or Energy).

The EU's objective in the field of transport, telecommunications and energy is to establish modern and efficient systems that are viable in economic, social and environmental terms. The harmonious and sustainable development of infrastructures is crucial to the smooth functioning of the internal market and to the Union's economic and social cohesion.

To achieve this, the Council has, since the nineties, contributed to the introduction of trans-European transport, energy and telecommunications networks. These networks respond to the overall objective of economic and social cohesion, which is of particular importance for the coming years in view of enlargement and the need to connect the large trans-European networks to the projects under way in the new countries of the Union.

The Council has also adopted the European GPS known as GALILEO, the European satellite navigation system which is designed for civilian purposes, is open to international cooperation and will be exploited commercially.

The TTE Council's three areas of activity are as follows:

– Transport

Transport is one of the foremost common Community policies by virtue of its contribution to the free movement of persons and goods. Article 71 of the Treaty establishes the content of the common transport policy as follows:

common rules applicable to international transport affecting the Member States;

the conditions under which non-resident carriers may operate transport services within a Member State;

measures to improve transport safety.

In this area, the Council acts by a qualified majority, in codecision with the European Parliament. In respect of provisions which might seriously affect the standard of living and level of employment in certain regions and the operation of transport facilities, the Council acts unanimously in consultation with the European Parliament.

The Council has been very actively addressing the many questions raised as a result of the opening of borders (market-access rules, safety, traffic management, interoperability, recognition of qualifications, technical rules, etc.) and the different modes of transport concerned (road, rail, air, inland waterway and maritime).

Measures taken at Community level initially related to the establishment of a fully integrated internal market. Today, now that the objective of an internal transport market has largely been achieved, the main challenge is to establish a "sustainable mobility" system, in other words a system of transport which optimises energy consumption as well as transport time, routes and conditions.

– Energy

Energy policy is essentially the remit of the Member States. The Treaty contains no specific chapter on energy. However, energy policy is included among the Community's objectives and is mentioned in the Treaty titles on environment and trans-European networks (which cover, inter alia, energy infrastructures).

The objectives pursued in this area have mainly consisted in guaranteeing an affordable energy supply for all consumers, with due regard for environmental protection and the promotion of healthy competition on the European energy market. In the context of the Kyoto Protocol, now more than ever the improvement of energy efficiency has become an important element of Community strategy.

Against that backdrop, the Council is examining the measures needed to ensure an adequate level of security of gas, oil and electricity supplies in the Community. Other proposals are intended to promote renewable energy sources or specific measures for energy management (buildings, biofuels, etc.).

Furthermore, the Council is working towards the establishment of a legislative framework for ensuring the smooth functioning of a competitive internal market in electricity while preserving the security of supply in electricity and ensuring a sufficient interconnection between Member States via general, transparent and non-discriminatory policies.

With enlargement, the Council is considering new proposals on the trans-European energy network in the electricity and gas sectors in order to make it more efficient.

Another aspect of the EU's energy policy concerns nuclear energy. This area is a responsibility of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) established in 1957 by a different Treaty than the one establishing the European Community. EURATOM's main task is to research and develop the peaceful use of nuclear energy, draw up uniform safety standards and establish a common market in nuclear-energy equipment.

– Telecommunications

The Council is working on the four objectives considered to be a priority in this area at European Union level:

the establishment of a Europe-wide integrated network;

the introduction of the information society;

the opening up of national markets;

the elimination of the regulatory disparities between Member States with regard to prices, standards, market-access conditions, public procurement, etc.

The Union has launched several measures to open up its markets more widely to competition, particularly in certain key sectors, and to promote investment in research.

The eEurope initiative is designed to provide everyone in the European Union with easy access to the Internet as rapidly as possible. The priority is on the introduction and use of broadband networks throughout the Union by 2005, the security of networks and information, online administration ("eGovernment"), online learning ("eLearning"), online health services ("eHealth") and electronic commerce ("eBusiness").

The creation of the Competitiveness Council in June 2002, through the merging of three previous configurations (Internal Market, Industry and Research) was a response to the perceived need for a more coherent and better coordinated handling of these matters related to the European Union's competitiveness. Depending on the items on the agenda, this Council is composed of European Affairs Ministers, Industry Ministers, Research Ministers, etc. It meets about five or six times a year.

Since then, this Council assumes a horizontal role in ensuring an integrated approach to the enhancement of competitiveness and growth in Europe . In that spirit, it reviews on a regular basis both horizontal and sectoral competitiveness issues on the basis of analyses provided by the Commission and give its views on how competitiveness issues can be properly taken into account in all policy initiatives which have an impact on enterprises. It also deals with legislative proposals in its different fields of activity, where it decides by qualified majority, mostly in codecision with the European Parliament.

The three strands of activity of the Competitiveness Council are the following:

- Internal Market

The Internal Market is one of the European Union’s most important and continuing priorities as it aims to create an area where persons and goods can move freely. To this end, the

Competitiveness Council covers a large number of matters: public procurement, free provision of services and establishment, free movement of goods, intellectual and industrial property rights, competition and company law.

- Industry

Issues related to industrial policy are still mainly competence of the Member States. Actions undertaken under the European Community Treaty must be guided by the necessity of ensuring the necessary conditions for the competitiveness of the Community's industry, through close cooperation between the Community and its Member States .

The Treaty specifies that in accordance with the principle of a system of open and competitive markets, the Community's action shall be aimed at speeding up the adjustment of industry to structural changes, encouraging an environment favourable to initiative and to the development of enterprises throughout the Community, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, encouraging an environment favourable to cooperation between enterprises and fostering better exploitation of the industrial potential of the policies of innovation, research and technological development.

Actions undertaken by the Community until now have been aimed at assisting Member States in resolving the crisis in the Community's main industrial sectors in such a way as to prevent distortions of competition while enabling the sectors concerned to be restructured within a given period. Criteria aim to ensure that this restructuring is coordinated and that the strategy for creating the conditions for promoting sectors capable of competing with their counterparts in other industrialised or newly industrialising countries is assessed.

- Research

Scientific Research and Technological Development (RTD) is playing an ever larger role in the process of economic development.

The European Community Treaty sets out the objectives, rules and procedures for the implementation of RTD activities. The main aim of Community activities is the strengthening of the scientific and technological bases of European industry and of its international competitiveness, by combining research resources in certain key areas and priority technologies.

The Seventh Framework Programme (2007-2013) is the Union's main instrument for the funding of research in Europe. It contributes to the creation of a European Research Area (ERA) as a vision for the future of research in Europe. It aims at scientific excellence, improved competitiveness and innovation through the promotion of increased cooperation, greater complementarity and improved coordination between the relevant actors at all levels.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Council is, together with the General Affairs and External Relations Council and the Ecofin Council, one of the Council's oldest configurations. It brings together once a month the Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries and the European

Commissioners responsible for agriculture and rural development, fisheries and maritime affairs, as well as consumer health and protection.

While agriculture has largely been covered by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) since 1960, with fisheries incorporated in the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) since 1983, the first joint measures in this sector date from 1970. Management of the CAP and its budget are divided into two: firstly, the agricultural markets (1st pillar) bringing together all the Common Market Organisations (CMOs), and secondly, rural development (2nd pillar).

Under the heading "agriculture and fisheries", the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers, assisted generally by the relevant Commissioners, Ms Fischer Boel, Mr Borg and Mr Kyprianou, meet on average once a month each year in Brussels – and in Luxembourg during the April, June and October sessions – to discuss and adopt legislative acts concerning those sectors.

The content of the agricultural and fisheries policies essentially involves regulation of the markets, organising production and establishing the resources available, improving horizontal agricultural structures and rural development.The CAP underwent a thorough reform in June 2003. In future, the most commonly used budgetary instrument should be the single farm payment based on reference periods, which is decoupled from production in the case of livestock farming, arable crops and milk, and is conditional upon meeting criteria such as respect for the environment and animal welfare.

CFP legislation was also revised in December 2002. The principal changes brought about by this reform are the abolition of public aid for fleet renewal after 31 December 2004, the introduction of recovery plans for stocks below safe biological limits and management plans for stocks within safe biological limits, and the increase in premiums for the scrapping of vessels to achieve further reductions in fishing effort as a result of the recovery plans adopted for the period from 2003 to 2006.

Agriculture and fisheries are two of the European Union's integrated Community policies, with decisions taken at European level by the Council and a "communitarised" budget for each policy, i.e. decisions on the financing of measures are taken in the Council on the basis of a European budget (about EUR 45 billion) that is separate from the national budgets.

The proceedings of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council are prepared by 12 working parties spanning 45 subdivisions according to products (e.g. Working Party on Arable Crops (Rice)) or areas (e.g. Working Party on Horizontal Agricultural Questions, Agrimonetary Questions). The dossiers are then studied either by Coreper or by the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) before being forwarded to the Council. Coreper usually deals with fisheries and food safety issues and agri budgetary questions. As regards acts concerning agricultural markets and rural development, a special structure, the SCA, was established at the beginning of the 1960s to take account of the highly technical nature of these dossiers.

The agricultural and fisheries policies are governed by Title II (Agriculture) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). This Title sets outs the objectives of the CAP in Article 33, describes the Common Market Organisations (CMOs) in agriculture in Article 34 and lays down the voting procedures in Article 37. Acts concerning food safety are governed by

Titles XIII and XIV (Public health and consumer protection) of the Treaty. In this area the Council decides by qualified majority, either in consultation with the European Parliament (agriculture and fisheries) or by codecision (food safety).

Qualified majority – 232 votes out of 321 (Art. 205 of the TEC, amended by Art. 12 of the Act of Accession, OJ L 236/2003, p. 36) – which takes account of the weighting of votes within the Council is required when adopting legislative acts whose legal basis is Article 37 or Articles 152 and 153. The minority needed to block the adoption of an act is therefore 90 votes.The parliamentary procedure varies depending on the policies in question: the Parliament's opinion is purely advisory and does not legally bind the Council when acts are based on Article 37; on the other hand, the opinion is legally binding for the Council when acts are based on Articles 152 and 153 of the TEC.

The Environment Council is composed of environment ministers who meet about four times a year. It decides by qualified majority in codecision with the European Parliament.

In this sector, the European Community has the task of fostering the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities which respects the need, in particular, to ensure a high level of environmental quality.

To achieve this, it aims to preserve the quality of the environment, human health, the prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources and to promote measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems.

While taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Community, Community policy on the environment is based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay.

The Education, Youth and Culture (EYC) Council brings together education, culture, youth and communication Ministers around three or four times a year. It usually adopts its decisions by a qualified majority (apart from on cultural affairs, where it acts unanimously) and in codecision with the European Parliament.

The European Community's aim is to contribute to the development of quality education, the implementation of a vocational training policy and the flowering of Member States' cultures, bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore, while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for defining the content of teaching and vocational training and organising education and vocational training systems, as well as their national and regional cultural diversity.

In order to achieve those objectives, the Community's primary role is to provide a framework for cooperation between the Member States, which works by exchanges of information and

experience on matters of shared interest. The Community can also use legislative channels where permitted by the Treaty establishing the European Community (for instance, on audiovisual matters and the mutual recognition of diplomas).

The Community complements Member States' action, especially by means of support programmes, with a view to:

contributing to the development of the teaching and dissemination of languages in order to develop the European dimension in education and training;

improving the knowledge and dissemination of the culture and history of the European peoples and safeguarding cultural heritage of European significance;

encouraging mobility of students and teachers by encouraging the mutual recognition of diplomas and periods of study;

promoting cooperation between educational and training establishments and, in particular with regard to training, with business;

improving initial and continuing vocational training with a view to facilitating the integration of citizens into the labour market, their adaptation to industrial change and their possible vocational retraining;

stimulating artistic and literary creation, including in the audiovisual sector.

http://ue.mae.ro/index.php?lang=ro&id=179Rolul Reprezentanţei Permanente

Rol: Punct de contact între statul român şi instituţiile Uniunii Europene

Reprezentanţa Permanentă a României pe lângă Uniunea Europeană reprezintă principalul canal de comunicare între instituţiile europene (Comisie, Consiliu, Parlament, etc.) şi autorităţile statului român (Guvern, Preşedinţie, Parlamentul României, precum şi alte instituţii sau autorităţi publice centrale şi locale).

Obiective : asigurarea unei activităţi eficiente a României ca stat membru UE şi promovarea poziţiilor naţionale şi a imaginii României la nivel comunitar

Alături de instituţiile statului român, Reprezentanţa Permanentă participă la elaborarea documentelor de poziţie ale României şi la prezentarea şi promovarea lor în cadrul instituţiilor europene. Domeniile de expertiză sunt variate şi acoperă toate politicile Uniunii Europene: piaţă comună, agricultură, pescuit, justiţie şi afaceri interne, industrie, protecţia consumatorului, turism, transport, telecomunicaţii, piaţa mucii, sănătate, educaţie, cercetare, mediu, relaţii externe, probleme bugetare şi financiare etc. După definitivarea documentelor de poziţie la nivel naţional, personalul diplomatic al Reprezentanţei Permanente prezintă şi promovează poziţiile României în reuniunile pregătitoare Consiliilor Ministeriale.

De asemenea, Reprezentantul Permanent şi adjunctul acestuia participă la reuniunile Comitetului Reprezentanţilor Permanenţi (COREPER), care se întâlneşte săptămânal şi pregăteşte lucrările Consiliului UE. Acest Comitet supraveghează şi coordonează activitatea grupurilor de lucru compuse din reprezentanţii statelor membre ce pregătesc, la nivel tehnic, dosarele discutate în COREPER şi Consiliu.

În afară de Consiliu, Reprezentanţa Permanentă este în contact şi cu ceilalţi actori majori implicaţi în procesul decizional al Uniunii precum Comisia Europeană (instituţie care propune proiecte legislative) şi Parlamentul European (instituţie care participă din ce în ce mai mult, alături de Consiliu, la procesul de adoptare a deciziilor comunitare).

Reprezentanţa Permanentă interacţionează şi cu alte instituţii/structuri care participă la procesul decizional al Uniunii printre care Comitetul regiunilor, Comitetul Economic şi Social, ONG-uri şi think tank-uri europene, dar întreţine relaţii şi cu structuri de decizie/de influenţare a deciziei din plan naţional precum Parlamentul României, colectivităţile locale şi regionale, societatea civilă, organizaţiile sindicale şi patronale. Nu în ultimul rând, asigurarea unei relaţii deschise şi transparente cu mas-media, atât cu cea din Bruxelles cât şi cu cea naţională, reprezintă unul dintre obiectivele principale ale Reprezentanţei Permanente.

În colaborare cu celelalte misiuni ale României la Bruxelles, Reprezentanţa Permanentă contribuie la promovarea unei imagini reale şi corecte a României în mediul comunitar. Reprezentanţa Permanentă organizează evenimente culturale, conferinţe, vizite în România, întâlniri de lucru ale înalţilor oficiali şi funcţionari publici români cu reprezentaţi ai instituţiilor europene şi oferă informaţii cu privire la oportunităţile de specializare sau angajare a cetăţenilor români în cadrul structurilor comunitare.