the council of the european union and the european council
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sets the EU'sgeneral politicaldirection andpriorities
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An institution of the European Union
Should not be confused with Council of the European Union or Council of Euro
Comprises the heads of state or government of the member states
Has its own president (Herman Van Rompuy) and the president of the Commiss
Strategic body (has no legislative power)
Its meetings are called EU Summits, they take place at least twice every six mo
The meetings take place in the headquarters Council of the European Union
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1961 February, July - The first informal meetings were held in Paris then in Bonn
1969 They allowed the united Kingdom to join the Community
1974 1988: The summits were formalized
1974: they faced the empty chair crisis and economic problems
2009: it gained the status as an institution of the European Union with the entering in
Treaty of Lisbon
For a while they have followed the same presidency system as the Council of the EU,individual (not necessary a national leader) is appointed for two-and-a-half-years
Herman Van Rompuy is the first permanent president
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1969: The Hague: Foreign policy and enlargement
1974: Paris: Creation of the Council
1985: Milan: Initiate IGC leading to the Single European Act
1991: Maastricht: Agreement on the Maastricht Treaty
1993: Copenhagen: Leading to the definition of the Copenhagen Criteria
1997: Amsterdam: Agreement on the Amsterdam Treaty
1998: Brussels: Selected member states to adopt the euro
1999: Cologne: Declaration on military forces
Some meetings of the European Council are seen by sturning points in the history of the European Unio
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1999: Tampere: Institutional reform
2000: Lisbon: Lisbon Strategy
2002: Copenhagen: Agreement for May 2004 enlargement
2007: Lisbon: Agreement on the Lisbon Treaty
2009: Brussels: Appointment of first president and merged High Representativ
2010: European Financial Stability Facility
Some meetings of the European Council are seen by sturning points in the history of the European Unio
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Singed by the European Community, the treaty was drafted by the European Co
Created the European Union and led to the creation of the single European curr
the Maastricht Treaty has been amended by the treaties of Amsterdam, Nice an
The treaty has established the three pillars of the European Union: the EuropeCommunity, the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Justice a
Affairs
The creation of the pillar system was the result of the desire by many member sthe European Economic Community to the areas of foreign policy, military, crimand judicial cooperation
signed on 7 February 1992 entered into force on 1 Nove
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Amends the Maastricht Treaty (1993) and the Treaty of Rome(1958)
Introduced the double majority requirement: Any decisiontaken under this scheme will require the support of at least55% of the Council of the European Union members who mustalso represent at least 65% of the EU's citizens
The stated aim of the treaty was "to complete the processstarted by the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and by the Treaty
of Nice (2001) with a view to enhancing the efficiency anddemocratic legitimacy of the Union and to improving thecoherence of its action."
signed on 13 December 2007 - entered into force on 1 Dec
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Heads of State or Government of the Member States
Presidents
President of the Commission
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs
Security Policy
When the agenda so requires, the members of the European Council may decidby a minister and (in the case of the President of the Commission), by a membeCommission
Its President is Herman Van Rompuy
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The European Council defines the general political direction and priorities of th
Union
With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, it becaminstitution
Provides the Union with the necessary impetus for its development
Defines the general political directions and priorities
It does not exercise legislative functions
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Except where the Treaties provide otherwise, decisions of the European Counc
consensus
In some cases, it adopts decisions by unanimity or by qualified majority, dependthe Treaty provides for
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The European Council elects its President by qualified majority
The President's term of office is two and a half years
Renewable once
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The European Council usually meets in Brussels, in the Justus Lipsius building
It is assisted by the General Secretariat of the Council
Meetings traditionally last for two days, sometimes even longer when contentioon the agenda
However, President Van Rompuy prefers to keep the summit to a single day
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[
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First appeared in the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) as the "SpecMinisters
At that time it had limited powers and the Council's consent was only required ooutside of the coal and steel matters
1957: the Treaties of Rome established two new communities and with them twCouncils:
the Council of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC)
the Council of the European Economic Community (EEC)
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The Council is one of the two chambers of the EU's legislative branch, the otheEuropean Parliament
It has great control over areas such as foreign policy and macroeconnomic co-o
The legislative branch officially holds the Union's budgetary authority
Budget: about 116.4 billion euro
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the EU's legislative authority is divided between the Council and the Parliament
o (absolute) majority: a system that requires more than 50% of the vote
o supermajority: greater than 50% of the vote
o double majority [EU]: at least 55% of the Council of the European Union membalso represent at least 65% of the EU's citizens
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The currently effective qualified majority voting rules are defined in the Treaty o
For a proposal to pass, the supporting side needs to surpass these three criteria
50% (if proposal was made by the Commission) or 67% (all other cases) of the
74% of the voting weights
62% of the EU population (this criteria is only checked upon request by a Counc
The Treaty of Lisbon makes a change in the voting system from the 1st of Novemost cases to double majority Qualified Majority Voting (replacing the voting w
Decisions made by the council have to be taken by 55% of member states repre65% of the EU's population
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The European Civil Service is the civil service serving the European Union. It is permanent bureaucracy that implements the decisions of the Union's governmeservants are allocated to departments, known as Directorates-General (DGs), e
one or more related policy areas and each headed by a director-general who rethe European Commissioner in charge of the corresponding policy area. These Commissioners participate, but do not vote, in Council activities
The General Secretariat of the Council provides the continuous infrastructure ocarrying out preparation for meetings, draft reports, translation, records, documand assisting the presidency
The Secretary General of the Council is head of the General Secretariat
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Each council configuration deals with a different area (forexample: agriculture and fisheries)
The council is composed of ministers from each statesgovernment, who are responsible for the area
There currently are 10 formations
The Councils meet irregularly throughout the year except the 3very last formations (Education, Environment, Transport&
Energy)
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o General Affairs (GAC): General affairs co-ordinates the work of the Council, prEuropean Council meetings
o Foreign Affairs (FAC): Chaired by the High Representative, trade and developmoperation (it can be also planning united defense)
o Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecofin): budgetary and Eurozone
o Agriculture and Fisheries (Agrifish): composed of the agriculture and fisheries mmember states. It considers matters concerning the Common Agricultural PolicFisheries Policy, forestry, organic farming, food and feed safety, seeds
o Justice and Home Affairs (JHA): brings together Justice ministers and Interior Mincludes civil protection
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o Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO): composed osocial protection, consumer protection, health and equal opportunities minister
o Competitiveness (COCOM): composed of ministers responsible for areas such affairs, industry, tourism and scientific research
o Transport, Telecommunications and Energy (TTE): its composition varying accospecific items on its agenda, they meet approximately once every two months
o Environment (ENVI): Composed of environment ministers, who meet about fou
o Education, Youth, Culture and Sport (EYC): Composed of education, culture, yocommunications and sport ministers, who meet around three or four times a ye
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The composition of the Council can only be compared with the composition of tupper house, the Bundesrat, where the membership is limited to members of th
of the German states and can be recalled by those governments in the same maCouncil of the EU
Each state has unequal voting powers based on population, with an absolute mfor decisions
The presidency rotates equally between members, though each year rather thanmonths like in the EU Council
Unlike the EU's Council, the Bundesrat does not vary its composition dependinbeing discussed
They both bear similar criticisms, because of the interference, of executives in tprocess
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Throughout the years it was moved multiple times
In 2008 the Council was moved from the Lex building in Luxembourg to the Jusbuilding and they are already planning to relocate it, they have bought the Rsid
building, and they are currently having it renovated
Within the Council's debates, delegates may speak in any of the 24 official EU
Official documents are also translated into Catalan/Valencian, Basque, and Gali
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