<sod>  {{Politics of the European Union}}
 The '''Council of the European Union''' forms, along with the [[European Parliament]], the legislative arm of the [[European Union]] (EU). It contains ministers of the governments of each of the member-states of the EU. The Council of the European Union is sometimes referred to in official European Union documents simply as the Council, and it is often informally referred to as the '''Council of Ministers'''.
 
It is to be distinguished from the [[Council of Europe]], which is a completely separate [[international organizations|international organization]]. It should also be distinguished from the [[European Council]], which is a separate but closely related institution, composed of the heads of state or government of the member states in the European Union, and the President of the [[European Commission]].
 
[[image:Justus_Lipsius.jpg|thumb|The Justus Lipsius building, Council of the European Union office in Brussels]]
The Council has a President and a Secretary-General. The President of the Council is the Foreign Minister of the state currently holding the [[Presidency of the Council of the European Union]]; while the Secretary-General is a civil servant, the head of the Council Secretariat. The Secretary-General also serves as the [[High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy]] ([[Common Foreign and Security Policy|CFSP]]).

The Council is assisted by [[COREPER]], which consists of representatives of the member-state at the level of diplomats or high-level civil servants. COREPER generally prepares the Council agenda, and negotiates minor and non-controversial matters, leaving controversial issues for discussion by the Council.
 
 == Formations of the Council ==

Legally speaking, the Council is a single entity, but it is in practice divided into several different councils, each dealing with a different functional area. Each council contains a different type of ministers.

There are currently nine formations:
 
 # '''General Affairs''' and '''External Relations''' (or '''GAERC'''): The most important of the formations, it is composed of Foreign Ministers and meets once a month. Since [[June 2002]] it holds separate meetings on General Affairs and External Relations.
 #* The General Affairs Council also coordinates preparation for and follow-up to meetings of the [[European Council]].
 
 Countries of the EU hold different numbers of votes in the Council. The number of votes held by each country is based indirectly on the size of the country's population, but with proportionally heavier weighting towards smaller countries. This concept is aimed at balancing the voice of big countries with the voice of small countries.
 
On [[November 1]] [[2004]], modified voting weights from the [[Treaty of Nice]] came into effect (this date was revised by the [[Treaty of Accession 2003]] from the original intention of [[January 1]], [[2005]]). This Treaty also provides for qualified majority votes to require a 'double majority' of both population and number of countries.
 
Further revisions to voting weights are made in the proposed [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]] which was signed in [[October 29]], [[2004]].
 
 ==See also==
* [[Institutions of the European Union]]
 
 ==External links==
 *[http://ue.eu.int Council of the European Union] [http://ue.eu.int/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?lang=en&id=242 about itself] (includes info on voting weights)
 <eod> <sod> {{Politics of the European Union}}
 The '''Council of the European Union''' forms, along with the [[European Parliament]], the legislative arm of the [[European Union]] (EU). It contains ministers of the governments of each of the member-states of the EU. The Council of the European Union is sometimes referred to in official European Union documents simply as the Council, and it is often informally referred to as the '''Council of Ministers'''.
 
The Council has a President and a Secretary-General. The President of the Council is the Foreign Minister of the state currently holding the [[Presidency of the Council of the European Union]]; while the Secretary-General is a civil servant, the head of the Council Secretariat. The Secretary-General also serves as the [[High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy]] ([[Common Foreign and Security Policy|CFSP]]). The Council is assisted by [[COREPER]], which consists of representatives of the member-state at the level of diplomats or high-level civil servants. COREPER generally prepares the Council agenda, and negotiates minor and non-controversial matters, leaving controversial issues for discussion by the Council.
 
The Council of the European Union is to be distinguished from the [[Council of Europe]], also sometimes referred to as the 'European summit', which is a completely separate [[international organizations|international organisation]]. It should also be distinguished from the [[European Council]], which is a separate but closely related institution.
 
 == Formations of the Council ==
[[image:Justus_Lipsius.jpg|thumb|225px|The Justus Lipsius building, the Council of the European Union office in Brussels]]
Legally speaking, the Council is a single entity, but it is in practice divided into several different councils, each dealing with a different functional area. Each council contains a different type of ministers. There are currently nine formations:
 
 # '''General Affairs''' and '''External Relations''' (or '''GAERC'''): The most important of the formations, it is composed of Foreign Ministers and meets once a month. Since [[June 2002]] it holds separate meetings on General Affairs and External Relations.
 #* The General Affairs Council also coordinates preparation for and follow-up to meetings of the [[European Council]].
 
 Countries of the EU hold different numbers of votes in the Council. The number of votes held by each country is based indirectly on the size of the country's population, but with proportionally heavier weighting towards smaller countries. This concept is aimed at balancing the voice of big countries with the voice of small countries.
 
On [[November 1]] [[2004]], modified voting weights from the [[Treaty of Nice]] came into effect (this date was revised by the [[Treaty of Accession 2003]] from the original intention of [[January 1]], [[2005]]). This Treaty also provides for qualified majority votes to require a 'double majority' of both population and number of countries. Further revisions to voting weights are made in the proposed [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]] which was signed in [[October 29]], [[2004]].
 
==Political parties==
''Main article: [[Parties in the Council of the European Union]]''
[[Image:Party affiliations in the Council of the EU (2004-March 2005).png|thumb|200px|right|EU member states by the European parliamentary affiliations of their leaders.]]
 
Almost all of the leaders and ministers of each member state belong to political parties at the national level. Many of these national parties belong to formal political groupings in the European Parliament. However there are no formal political groups or alliances in the Council, and countries led by similar political parties are often not in agreement on questions that come before the body. Nonetheless the table below describes the current breakdown of party affiliations in the Council, in terms of the European parliamentary alliances with which the leader of each member state is indirectly associated.

{| border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 width=50%
|'''Parliamentary group'''
|'''No. of states'''
|[[European People's Party - European Democrats]]
|11
|[[Party of European Socialists]]
|8
|[[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe]]
|4
|[[Union for a Europe of Nations]]
|1
|}
 ==See also==
*[[List of European Union-related topics|List of EU related topics]]
 
 ==External links==
 *[http://ue.eu.int Council of the European Union] [http://ue.eu.int/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?lang=en&id=242 about itself] (includes info on voting weights)
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