THE COUNCIL OF THE EU is the EU institution where ministers from the 28 EU countries sit. There are 10 different Council configurations, covering the whole range of EU policies.

The composition and frequency of Council meeting varies depending on the policy area. For example, economic and finance ministers meet once a month in the Ecofin Council. The environment ministers participate in the Environment Council meetings, which take place about four times per year.

The Council adopts legislative acts (regulations, directives, etc.), in many cases in co-decision with the European Parliament, coordinates member states' policies, concludes international agreements on behalf of the EU and adopts the EU's budget together with the European Parliament.

The EU's 28 countries take it in turn to chair the Council for a period of six months each. During this period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level (except the foreign affairs policy area), proposes guidelines and draws up the compromises needed for the Council to take decisions.



THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL brings together heads of state or government of every EU country, the president of the European Commission and the president of the European Council, who chairs the meetings. The meetings or summits take place at least four times per year.

The European Council provides the EU with the necessary impetus for its development. It identifies major issues to be dealt with by the Council in each of the policy areas under its responsibility. Decisions of the European Council are taken by consensus. It has no power to pass laws.

With the Treaty of Lisbon (2009), it became an official institution with permanent president, elected for two and a half years (renewable once). Herman Van Rompuy, former prime minister of Belgium is the first one to occupy the post. The president makes sure the decisions of the European Council are subsequently put into practice.

The Council of the European Union is a key EU decision-maker. Its decisions are directly relevant to the lives of EU citizens and have impact on the international stage.

The European Council is the driving force behind the European Union - it determines the EU's guidelines and political priorities.

MODERATION POLICY:
We invite you to contribute to conversations on this page and to share its content. We are pleased to see different views and opinions expressed, but we cannot accept comments which are either offensive in themselves or clearly offensive to other users.

We would therefore like to ask you to avoid insulting language, to show respect to fellow page users and the fundamental principles we all share (so no racism, no xenophobia, no call to violence, no discrimination based on religion, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation etc).

We would also like to ask you to post comments that stick to the subject of the status. We reserve the right to delete all comments that don't respect the above guidelines.


PHOTOS:
All photos published on this page are copyright of the European Union, unless stated otherwise. Photos ©European Union can be used freely provided the source is acknowledged. They must not be used for commercial purposes or in an offensive way.

QUESTIONS:
If you have questions about the Council of the European Union or the European Council, contact our Public Information Service @ http://www.consilium.europa.eu/contacts/info-public.

DISCLAIMER:
The content published on this page by the "Council of the EU" is drawn up under the responsibility of the social media team of the Council General Secretariat and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Council of the EU.