The advice of the European union (often also simply advice or Council of Ministers called) is the most important decision organ of the European community, which forms a part of the European union. The advice is thus part of the political system of the European Union and sits down together from representatives of the member states on Minister level, which meet regularly. Seat is the Consilium, the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels.

The advice takes legislation authority together with the European parliament within the European Union was, although its members belong to the executive (the national governments). This is an example of executive federalism. Critics see therein however a contradiction for the principle of the division of power and a reason for the felt bureaucracy and people proximity lacking and/or the democracy deficit of the European Union.

Organization

The advice is a uniform organ, meets however on the basis the different politics policy in different formations. Since 2002 this is the following:

• General advice and external relations
• Economics and finances (Ecofin)
• Co-operation within the ranges law and inside
• Occupation, social politics, health and consumer
• Competitive ability
• Environment
• Education, youth and culture
• Traffic, telecommunications and energy
• Agriculture and fishery

The meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs is called general advice, in addition-set with meetings of the specialized Ministers the respective designation (e.g. secretary of the environment advice or Secretary of Agriculture advice). The advice can meet for serious decisions or problems also in the composition of the state and heads of the government - this may not be confounded however with the European advice. The designation advice of the European union was introduced by the resolution from 8 November 1993. In the EEC contract, in the Euratom contract and in the EGKS contract the speech is only from the "advice".

The meetings of the advice prepared of the committee of the Permanent Representatives, a committee of the Permanent Representatives (see with Ambassadors) of the member states at the European Union.

The advice has a Generalsekretariat with approx. 2500 coworkers. Secretary-General and thus an also high representative of the common outside and security politics is the Spaniard Javier Solana.

The advice of the European union is not against its designation an organ of the European union, but an organ of the European community (Art.7 I EGV, kind 202 FF. EGV). The European Union avails itself in the framework of the intergouvernementalen co-operation (GASP, PJZS) of the advice in the way organ-borrows (Art.5 EUV).

Closer regulations for organization the agenda contains the advice of the European union.

Council presidency

See major items: President of the advice of the European union

The president of the advice of the European union is, with support by the minister of foreign affairs, a head of the government of the country, which has the presidency in the advice of the European union. This changes every six months between the member states to an order specified by the advice. On 12 December 2005 the advice of the European union specified the order for the perception of the presidency in the advice to June 2018. The resolution was published in the Official Journal of the European union, L 328 from 15 December 2005, P. 60.

In the contract over a condition for Europe, not ratified yet, it is intended that the presidency in the advice for one period is ensured by 18 months of a group of three member countries.

Voice distribution

Since the entry into force of the contract of Nice the following voice distribution applies in the advice:

Points of criticism

Substantial aspects in the center of the discussions around the transparency of the advice are:

• the open character and/or the secrecy of the meetings and
• the entrance to minutes of the meeting.

After the advice changed its agenda in 6 December 1993, applies: Usually the advice under exclusion of the public advises. Only certain consultation is public (e.g. to the half yearly program of the presidency or tunings over right document).

For the publication of the voting results and the tuning explanations of the member states the advice accepted a code of practice, which plans a publication on 2 October 1995 if the advice became active as legislators. The modalities of the publication were specified by the committee of the Permanent Representatives in a report from 8 November 1995, however the current regulations permit a holding back of minutes of the meeting to the agenda with the reason that that can affect decisions.

Related links

• Website of the advice
• Overview of the advice on the commission side
• Entry with Europe digital
• Information of the European Union information center Lower Saxony

Articles in category "Advice of the European union"

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