European Council

European Council Bulgarian: Европейски съвет   Czech: Evropská rada   Danish: Det Europæiske Råd   Dutch: Europese Raad   Estonian: Euroopa Ülemkogu   Finnish: Eurooppa-neuvosto   French: Conseil européen   German: Europäischer Rat   Greek: Ευρωπαϊκό Συμβούλιο Hungarian: Európai Tanács   Irish: An Chomhairle Eorpach   Italian: Consiglio europeo   Latvian: Eiropadome   Lithuanian: Europos Vadovų Taryba   Maltese: Kunsill Ewropew   Polish: Rada Europejska   Portuguese: Conselho Europeu   Romanian: Consiliul European   Slovak: Európska rada   Slovene: Evropski svet   Spanish: Consejo Europeo   Swedish: Europeiska rådet
Established	1961 (informally) 2009 (formally)
Type	EU institution
President	Herman van Rompuy
Seat	Justus Lipsius building, Brussels
Website	european-council.europa.eu

European Union

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the European Union

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The European Council is the institution of the European Union (EU) responsible for defining the general political direction and priorities of the Union.^[1] It comprises the heads of state or government of EU member states, along with its President and the President of the Commission. The High Representative takes part in its meetings, which are chaired by its President:^[1] currently Herman Van Rompuy.

While the European Council has no formal legislative power, it is an institution that deals with major issues and any decisions made are "a major impetus in defining the general political guidelines of the European Union". The Council meets at least twice every six months;^[1] usually in the Justus Lipsius building, the headquarters of the Council of the European Union in Brussels.^[2][3][4]

History

The first Councils were held in February and July 1961 (in Paris and Bonn respectively). They were informal summits of the leaders of the European Community and were started due to then-French President Charles de Gaulle's resentment at the domination of supranational institutions (e.g. the European Commission) over the integration process. The first influential summit was held in 1969 after a series of irregular summits. The Hague summit of 1969 reached an agreement on the admittance of the United Kingdom into the Community and initiated foreign policy cooperation (the European Political Cooperation) taking integration beyond economics.^[1][5]

The summits were only formalised in the period between 1974 and 1988. At the December summit in Paris in 1974, following a proposal from then-French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, it was agreed that more intergovernmental, political input was needed following the "empty chair crisis" and economic problems. The inaugural European Council, as it had become, was held in Dublin on 3 October and 3 November 1975 during Ireland's first Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In 1987, it was included in the treaties for the first time (the Single European Act) and had a defined role for the first time in the Maastricht Treaty. At first only two meetings per year were required, now there are on average four European Councils each year (two per presidency). The seat of the Council was formalised in 2002, basing it in Brussels. In addition to usual councils, there are the occasional extraordinary councils as for example in 2001 when the European Council gathered to lead the EU's response to the September 11 attacks.^[1][5]

The meetings of the Council are seen by some as turning points in the history of the European Union. For example:^[1]

• 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.^[6]
• 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 Representative.

As such, the European Council had already existed before it gained the status as an institution of the European Union with the entering into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. Indeed, Article 214(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community provided (before it was amended by the Treaty of Lisbon) that ‘the Council, meeting in the composition of Heads of State or Government and acting by a qualified majority, shall nominate the person it intends to appoint as President of the Commission’ (emphasis added); this may be seen as an early codification of the European Council in the Treaties. In the event, Article 2 of the Treaty of Lisbon officially introduces the term European Council as a substitute for the phrase "Council [of the European Union] meeting in the composition of the Heads of State or Government", which was previously used in the treaties to refer to this body.^[7]

The Treaty of Lisbon made the European Council a formal institution distinct from the Council of the EU, and created the present permanent presidency. As an outgrowth of the Council of the EU, the European Council followed the same Presidency by rotating between each member state. While the Council of the EU retains that system, the European Council established, with no change in powers, a system of appointing an individual (without them being a national leader) for two-and-a-half-years.^[8] Following the ratification of the treaty in December 2009, the European Council elected the then-Prime Minister of Belgium Herman Van Rompuy as its first permanent President (resigning from Belgian Prime Minister).^[9]

Powers and functions

The European Council is an official institution of the EU, mentioned by the Lisbon Treaty as a body which "shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development". Essentially it defines the EU's policy agenda and has thus been considered to be the motor of European integration. It does this without any formal powers, only the influence it has being composed of national leaders.^[1][3] Beyond the need to provide "impetus", the Council has developed further roles; to "settle issues outstanding from discussions at a lower level", to lead in foreign policy — acting externally as a "collective Head of State", "formal ratification of important documents" and "involvement in the negotiation of the treaty changes".^[4][5]

Since the institution is composed of national leaders, it gathers the executive power of the member states and has thus a great influence outside established areas as for example foreign policy. It also exercises some executive powers such as the appointment of its own President, the President of the European Commission, and the High Representative. Moreover, the European Council influences police and justice planning, the composition of the Commission, matters relating to the rotating presidency, the suspension of membership rights, and changing the voting systems through the Passerelle Clause. Although the European Council has no direct legislative power, under the "emergency brake" procedure, a state outvoted in the Council of Ministers may refer contentious legislation to the European Council. However, the state may still be outvoted in the European Council.^[8][10][11] Hence with powers over the supranational executive of the EU, in addition to its other powers, the European Council has been described by some as the Union's "supreme political authority".^{[4][5][8][12]}

Composition

A traditional 'family photo', here taken at the royal palace in Brussels during Belgium's 1987 Presidency

The European Council consist of the heads of state or government of the member states, alongside its own President and the Commission President (non-voting). The meetings used to be regularly attended by the national foreign minister as well, and the Commission President likewise accompanied by another member of the Commission. However, since the Treaty of Lisbon reclassified inter-member state relations as domestic rather than international politics, foreign ministers are no longer regular attendees. When present though, these are the attendants seen in the "family photo" taken at each Council.^[1][3][4]

Meetings can also include other leading national positions (e.g., the French Prime Minister), as required. The Secretary-General of the Council is also a regular attendee as is their deputy; the position had become highly important due to its regular role in organising the meetings while also (before the Lisbon treaty took effect) acting as the High Representative. The President of the European Parliament usually attends to give an opening speech outlining the European Parliament's position before talks begin.^[1][3][4]

Additionally, the negotiations involve a large number of other people working behind the scenes. Most of those people, however, are not allowed to the conference room, except for two delegates per state to relay messages. At the push of a button members can also call for advice from a Permanent Representative via the "Antici Group" in an adjacent room. The group is composed of diplomats and assistants who convey information and requests. Interpreters are also required for meetings as members are permitted to speak in their own languages.^[1]

As the composition is not precisely defined, some states which have a considerable division of executive power can find it difficult to decide who should attend the meetings. While an MEP, Alexander Stubb argued that there was no need for the President of Finland to attend Council meetings with or instead of the Prime Minister of Finland (who was head of European foreign policy).^[13] In 2008, having become Finnish Foreign Minister, Stubb was forced out of the Finnish delegation to the emergency council meeting on the Georgian crisis because the President wanted to attend the high profile summit as well as the Prime Minister (only two people from each country can attend the meetings). This was despite Stubb being head of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe at the time which was heavily involved in the crisis. Problems also occurred in Poland where the President of Poland and the Prime Minister of Poland were of different parties and had a different foreign policy response to the crisis.^[14]

President

President Herman Van Rompuy took office on 1 December 2009.

The President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy, is elected for a once-renewable term of two and a half years. The role as President-in-Office is in no sense equivalent to an office of a head of state, merely a primus inter pares (first among equals) role among other European heads of government. The President-in-Office is primarily responsible for preparing and chairing the Council meetings, and has no executive powers. The position offers external representation of the European Council and the EU and must report to the European Parliament after each European Council meeting.^[4][12]

The post was created by the Treaty of Lisbon and was subject to a debate over its exact role. Prior to Lisbon, the Presidency rotated in accordance with the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.^[4][12] The leader of the Council Presidency country can still act as President when the permanent president is absent.

Council members

With the exception for the Presidential states, German speaking states and EU offices, most European Council members are titled or referred to in English speaking media as "Prime Minister" due to the dominance of parliamentary democracy in Europe. However, in their native countries the formal and informal titles differ: for example President of the Government or Minister of State.

Member State	Representative	Title	Political party	Member since	Photo
President Non voting position	Rompuy, Herman vanHerman van Rompuy	&0President	EPP National: CD&V	02009-12-01 1 December 2009
Austria	Faymann, WernerWerner Faymann	&1Chancellor	PES National: SPÖ	02008-12-02 2 December 2008
Belgium	Leterme, YvesYves Leterme[a 1]	&1Prime Minister	EPP National: CD&V	02009-11-25 25 November 2009
Bulgaria	Borisov, BoykoBoyko Borisov	&1Prime Minister	EPP National: GERB	02009-07-27 27 July 2009
Cyprus	Christofias, DimitrisDimitris Christofias	&0President	PEL National: ΑΚΕΛ[15]	02008-02-28 28 February 2008
Czech Republic	Petr Nečas	&1President of the Government[a 2]	AECR National: ODS	02010-07-13 13 July 2010
Denmark	Rasmussen, Lars LøkkeLars Løkke Rasmussen	&1Minister of State[a 2]	ELDR National: Venstre	02009-04-05 5 April 2009
Estonia	Ansip, AndrusAndrus Ansip	&1Prime Minister	ELDR National: Reformierakond	02005-04-12 12 April 2005
Finland	Kiviniemi, MariMari Kiviniemi	&1Prime Minister	ELDR National: Keskusta	02010-06-22 22 June 2010
France	Sarkozy, NicolasNicolas Sarkozy	&0President	EPP National: UMP	02007-05-16 16 May 2007
Germany	Merkel, AngelaAngela Merkel	&1Chancellor	EPP National: CDU	02005-11-22 22 November 2005
Greece	George Papandreou	&1Prime Minister	PES National: PASOK	02009-10-06 6 October 2009
Hungary	Orbán, ViktorViktor Orbán	&1Minister-President[a 2]	EPP National: Fidesz	02010-05-29 29 May 2010
Ireland	Cowen, BrianBrian Cowen	&1Taoiseach[a 2]	ELDR National: FF	02008-05-07 7 May 2008
Italy	Berlusconi, SilvioSilvio Berlusconi	&1President of the Council of Ministers[a 2]	EPP National: PdL	02008-05-08 8 May 2008
Latvia	Dombrovskis, ValdisValdis Dombrovskis	&1Prime Minister	EPP National: JL	02009-03-12 12 March 2009
Lithuania	Grybauskaitė, DaliaDalia Grybauskaitė	&1President	Independent supported by HU-LCD (EPP)	02009-07-12 12 July 2009
Luxembourg	Juncker, Jean-ClaudeJean-Claude Juncker	&1Prime Minister	EPP National: CSV	01995-01-20 20 January 1995
Malta	Gonzi, LawrenceLawrence Gonzi	&1Prime Minister	EPP National: PN	02004-05-01 1 May 2004
Netherlands	Balkenende, Jan PeterJan Peter Balkenende[a 3]	&1Prime Minister	EPP National: CDA	02002-07-22 22 July 2002
Poland	Donald Tusk	&1President of the Council of Ministers[a 2]	EPP National: PO	02007-11-16 16 November 2007
Portugal	Sócrates, JoséJosé Sócrates	&1Prime Minister	PES National: PS	02005-03-12 12 March 2005
Romania	Băsescu, TraianTraian Băsescu	&1President	EPP National: PD-L	02007-01-01 1 January 2007
Slovakia	Radičová, IvetaIveta Radičová	&1President of the Government[a 2]	EPP National: SDKÚ-DS	02010-07-08 8 July 2010
Slovenia	Pahor, BorutBorut Pahor	&1President of the Government[a 2]	PES National: SD	02008-11-21 21 November 2008
Spain	Rodríguez Zapatero, José LuisJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero	&1President of the Government[a 2]	PES National: PSOE	02004-04-17 17 April 2004
Sweden	Reinfeldt, FredrikFredrik Reinfeldt	&1Minister of State[a 2]	EPP National: Moderaterna	02006-10-06 6 October 2006
United Kingdom	Cameron, DavidDavid Cameron	&1Prime Minister	AECR National: Conservative	02010-05-11 11 May 2010
Commission Non voting representation	Barroso, José ManuelJosé Manuel Barroso	&0President	EPP National: PSD	02004-11-23 23 November 2004

Notes

Political parties

States by the European party affiliations of their leaders as of 8 July 2010

Almost all members of the Council are members of a political party at national level, and most of these are members of a European-level political party. However the Council is composed in order to represent the EU's states rather than political parties and decisions are generally made on these lines. However their ideological alignment does colour their political agreements and their choice of appointments (such as their President).

The table below outlines the number of leaders affiliated to each party and their total voting weight. The map to the right indicates the alignment of each individual country.

Seat and meetings

The Justus Lipsius building, the headquarters of the European Council in Brussels.

Meetings of the European Council usually take place four times a year in Brussels. Meetings traditionally last for two days, sometimes be longer if contentious issues are on the agenda,^[1] however President Van Rompuy prefers to keep the summit to a single day.^[16] Up until 2002, the venue of the council meeting rotated between member states, as its location was decided by the country holding the rotating presidency. However, the 22nd declaration attached to the Treaty of Nice stated that; "As from 2002, one European Council meeting per Presidency will be held in Brussels. When the Union comprises 18 members, all European Council meetings will be held in Brussels."^[17]

So between 2002 and 2004 half the councils were held in Brussels, and from the 2004 enlargement, all were. The European Council uses the same building as the Council of the European Union (the Justus Lipsius building). However some extraordinary councils still take place outside of the city in the member holding the Presidency; (Rome, 2003 or Hampton Court Palace in 2005). Résidence Palace is currently being rebuilt for use as a purpose built summit building by the European Council and the Council. It is due to be completed in 2013.^[5][18]

The choice of a single seat was due to a number of factors, mostly logistical (organising the meetings became ever more onerous with the enlargement of the EU, especially for smaller countries) and security (the experience of the Belgian police in dealing with protesters (a protester in Gothenburg was shot by police)) as well as Brussels having fixed facilities for the Council and journalists at every meeting. By having a permanent seat in Brussels, it was expected the Council would integrate further into the Community framework, rather than continuing under heavy national influence, developing as a governmental body (some have argued it is already the de facto EU government).^[5]

In 2007 the new situation became a source of contention with the European Council wanting to sign the Lisbon Treaty in Lisbon. However the Belgian government, keen not to set a precedent, insisted that the actual meeting take place in Brussels as usual. This would mean that after the signing, photo suit and formal dinner the entire summit would transfer from Lisbon to Brussels to continue with normal business. The idea of such an eventuality, mirrored with the "travelling circus" of the European Parliament, garnered protests from environmental groups describing the hypocrisy of demanding lower carbon emissions while flying across Europe for the same summit for political reasons.^[19]

However in April 2010 President Herman van Rompuy indicated he would like to hold some meetings outside of Brussels, in the member state holding the rotating presidency after 2010 (as Belgium holds the rotating presidency in the second half of 2010) in order to state that the EU is "Europe is not just Brussels".^[20]

Reflection Group ”Horizon 2020-2030″

The European Council of December 2007 established the Reflection Group ”Horizon 2020-2030″ to assist the European Union in effectively anticipating and meeting challenges in the longer term horizon of 2020 to 2030 . The group of 12 is chaired by Felipe Gonzalez. It started the work in December 2008 and shall present its report to the European Council by June 2010. ^{[21] [22]}

Members are:

• Felipe Gonzalez (Chair)
• Vaira Vike-Freiberga (Vice-Chair)
• Jorma Ollila (Vice Chair)
• Lykke Friis
• Rem Koolhaas
• Richard Lambert
• Mario Monti
• Rainer Münz, head of Research & Development at Erste Group Bank AG and Senior Fellow at the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI)^[23]
• Kalypso Nicolaïdis
• Nicole Notat, ex secretary-general of the trade union CFDT and she is currently chief executive officer of Vigeo.
• Wolfgang Schuster
• Lech Walesa

References

External links

• Official website
• Archive of European Integration - Summit Guide
• European Council (European Navigator)
• Reflection Group +established by the European Council

European Council List of meetings · President · Party composition (1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 (Jan–Apr) • 2004 (May–Dec) • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010) Van Rompuy (President) · Faymann · Leterme · Borisov · Christofias · Nečas · Løkke Rasmussen · Ansip · Kiviniemi · Sarkozy · Merkel · Papandreou · Orbán · Cowen · Berlusconi · Dombrovskis · Grybauskaitė · Juncker · Gonzi · Rutte · Tusk · Sócrates · Boc · Radičová · Pahor · Zapatero · Reinfeldt · Cameron · Barroso European Union Portal