The Council of Ministers also known as the Council of the European Union is the most powerful institution within the history of the European Union. The Council of Ministers has retained and increased its power throughout the treaties in the EU. The Council of Ministers is usually referred to as “the Council”. It is the EU’s main decision making and law-making body, and works in partner with the EU parliament to form the EU’s governing body. The council of minsters is the principle meeting place for all national gornvemnts to meet at Brussels to discuss objectives, policies and decision making.
The Council of Minsters consists of ministers from each member state within the European Union with responsibilities for policies to be discussed. Members are responsible to their own national parliaments along with being part of an institution that makes decisions on the behalf of Europe. Policies can be discussed regarding any one of the ten “councils” which are:
1. Foreign Affairs Council
2. General Affairs Council
3. Economic and Financial Council
4. Justice and Home Affairs
5. Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
6. Competitiveness (Internal Market, Industry and Research) Council
7. Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council
8. Agriculture and Fisheries Council
9. Environment Council
10. Education, Youth and Culture Council
The Council of Ministers main function involves it passing all EU laws and legislations. Another key function includes working in conjunction on internal agreements and possible laws that are then negotiated by the Commission. The factors of finance and approval of an annual EU budget are authorised by the Council of Minsters along with the European Parliament. The Council of Ministers are the key players in signing agreements between the European Union member states and also other countries outside the EU which also leads to the Council of Ministers ensuring cooperation of all