General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union

European Union

This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the European Union

Parliament President Martin Schulz Largest groups; EPP (Manfred Weber) S&D (Gianni Pittella) 8th session (2014-19) 751 MEPs Bureau Vice Presidents Quaestor Conference Legislative procedure

European Council President Donald Tusk Parties List of meetings

EU Council Presidency Latvia Configurations General Foreign Justice and Home Economic Euro Legislative procedure Voting Secretariat Secretary-General Uwe Corsepius Directorates-general COREPER

Commission Juncker Comm. President Jean-Claude Juncker Vice Presidents Frans Timmermans Federica Mogherini Kristalina Georgieva Jyrki Katainen Valdis Dombrovskis Andrus Ansip Maroš Šefčovič Commissioners Civil Service Secretary-General Catherine Day

Court of Justice Court of Justice General Court Civil Service Tribunal Members Rulings

Central Bank Central Bank President ESCB Euro EMU Eurozone

Court of Auditors Court of Auditors Budget OLAF

Agencies

Other bodies Investment Bank CoR EESC Ombudsman National parliaments

Policies and issues Budget Four Freedoms Economic area Single market Area of FS&J Schengen Policies Agricultural Energy Fisheries Regional Citizenship Identity Pro-Europeanism Euroscepticism Integration Supranationalism Federalism United States of Europe Multi-speed Opt-outs Enhanced co-op Withdrawal

Foreign relations High Representative Federica Mogherini Ext. Action Service Foreign Policy Defence Policy Enlargement

Elections 1979, 1984, 1989 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 2014 (last election) Political parties Constituencies Referendums

Law Acquis Primacy Subsidiarity Treaties Fundamental Rights Membership

The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, also known as Council Secretariat, assists the Council of the European Union, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Council and the President of the European Council. The General Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. The Secretariat is divided into seven directorates-general, each administered by a director-general.

The Secretariat is based in Brussels, in the Justus Lipsius building. The respective secretariats of the Schengen Agreement and of now-defunct Western European Union and European Political Cooperation have along the years been integrated with the Council Secretariat.

Tasks

• It "shall be closely and continually involved in organizing, coordinating and ensuring the coherence of the Council's work and implementation of its annual programme".^[1] This involves 'traditional tasks', such as planning, convening and organizing the meetings (around 100 sessions of the Council, and more than 3500 meetings of working parties and other gatherings every year, e.g. extraordinary Council meetings or EU meetings with other states), arranging rooms and translation, making the minutes, acting as the Council's registrar and memory by keeping archives, and being a depositary for international agreements.^[2]

• It acts as a legal adviser and political counsellor to the EU Presidency. It advises the Presidency, especially in working out the compromises on which Council decisions and other acts will be based. Members of the Secretariat's Legal Service are on hand at all important meetings to advise on issues raised in the discussions and to clarify the legal aspects of certain procedures. The Legal Service also represents the Council before the Court of Justice of the European Union, the General Court (European Union) and the European Union Civil Service Tribunal;^[3]

• The Council Secretariat also plays an important role in the EU's intergovernmental conferences (IGC), because it provides the IGC Secretariat. Apart from legal advice, it also tries to be an honest broker among member states. Close observer have argued that the Council Secretariat, together with the Presidency, is the most important actor in the IGC (Gray & Stubb 2001).

Organisation

The organisation of the General Secretariat is decided by a simple majority of votes by the Council.^[4] The Secretary-General is also appointed by the Council.^[5]

It currently consists of 7 directorates-general, the Legal Service, 5 departments under the Secretary-General (e.g. internal audit, general political questions) and has around 3200 employees.

See also

• Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union
• History of the European Union
• Intergovernmental Conference
• Common Foreign and Security Policy
• High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

References and further reading

• Beach, D. (2004), ‘The unseen hand in treaty reform negotiations: the role and influence of the Council Secretariat’, Journal of European Public Policy, 11(3), pp. 408–439.
• Christiansen, T. (2002a), ‘Out of the Shadows: The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers’, Journal of Legislative Studies, 8(4), pp. 80–97.
• Duke, S. & Vanhoonacker, S. (2006), ‘Administrative governance in the CFSP: development and practice’, European Foreign Affairs Review, 11(2), pp. 163–182.
• Gray, M. & Stubb, A. (2001), ‘Keynote article: The Treaty of Nice – Negotiating a Poisoned Chalice?’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 39 Annual Review, pp. 5–23.
• Hayes-Renshaw, F. & Wallace, H. (2006), The Council of Ministers, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Westlake, M. & Galloway, D. (2004), The Council of the European Union, London: John Harper.

External links

• Council website: http://www.consilium.europa.eu – Europa
  • PRADO - The Council of the European Union Public Register of Travel- and ID Documents Online
  • General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union
• Main CFSP bodies in the Council Secretariat: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr

Council of the European Union Operation Presidency (current trio: Italy Latvia Luxembourg) Voting Configurations Agriculture and Fisheries Council Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Eurogroup) Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council Environment Council Competitiveness Council Foreign Affairs Council General Affairs Council Justice and Home Affairs Council Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council Administration General Secretariat Secretary-General COREPER SCA Directorates-general Buildings Justus Lipsius Lex Résidence Palace European Union Portal