Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union (often referred to simply as ‘the Council’) is a key EU decision-maker. It brings together the ministers of the 27 EU countries.

The Council negotiates and adopts EU legislation and coordinates certain policies. It also:

• adopts the EU budget
• concludes international agreements on behalf of the EU
• develops the EU's foreign and security policy

Negotiates and adopts EU legislation

Almost all law-making requires a proposal from the European Commission. Most Commission proposals require joint adoption by the Council and the European Parliament.

As a result, for each proposal there are several lines of negotiations:

• ministers discuss their views with each other in the Council
• the Council negotiates with the Commission and the European Parliament
• when the Council and Parliament agree on a final text, it is adopted

For most law-making, the Council and the European Parliament are 'co-legislators' They are absolutely equal in the decision-making process. This is called the 'ordinary legislative procedure', or 'codecision'.

Concludes international agreements

The Foreign Affairs Council directs negotiations and gives its approval for the EU’s international agreements. These can be with non-EU countries or with international organisations, and are mostly trade agreements.

The Council gives a mandate and negotiating directives to the Commission, which negotiates for the whole EU. At the end of the negotiations, the Council votes to sign and conclude the agreement. All international agreements, except for those in foreign and security policy, require the consent of the European Parliament.