What is the difference between the ‘Council’ and the ‘European Council’?

‘The Council of the European Union’ and ‘The European Council’ are easily confused but there is a big difference between the two.

The Council of the European Union is often called just the Council or the Council of Ministers. It is the central legislative and decision-making body in the EU. The Council comprises one representative at ministerial level from each Member State with the authority to commit their government. The Council’s composition of government representatives varies depending on the subject on the agenda.

The European Council comprises the Heads of State or Government of the EU Member States and the President of the Commission. These are assisted by the foreign ministers of the Member States and another Member of the Commission. The European Council establishes the EU’s general political guidelines. Article 4 TEU states: ‘The European Council shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and shall define the general political guidelines thereof’.

Since 2002 the European Council has met at least twice during each Presidency, i.e. four times a year. Extraordinary meetings are also held. Meetings of the European Council are often referred to in the media as EU summits.

The European Council has typically held its meetings in a city or town in the country holding the Presidency but a declaration concerning the meeting place of the European Council was adopted in connection with the Treaty of Nice. According to the declaration at least half of the meetings of the European Council are to be held in Brussels from 2002 and when the EU has more than 18 members, all meetings of the European Council are to be held in Brussels. This has been the case since 2004 when the number of member states rose from 15 to 25. From 1 Januaruy 2007 when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU the number of member states rose further to 27.

Development of the European Council

The European Council came into being as a result of a communiqué from the summit held in Paris in December 1974 at which the Heads of Government and foreign ministers of the then nine Member States, together with the President of the Commission, established a need to secure the development and coherence of efforts in the Community and the political work. It was therefore decided that the Heads of Government and their foreign ministers should meet three times a year and as required in ‘the Council of the Community’. The European Council was not enshrined in the Treaties until the entry into force of the Single European Act in 1987. The functions of the European Council were specified in greater detail with the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Amsterdam.

Sidst opdateret: 23-07-2008  - ANSJ