About: Council

Leak: Capitals seek to reform EU summits to cope with Trump era

EU countries are working on a review of their summits to improve their efficiency amid the challenges posed by Donald Trump, China and other foreign actors, according to official notes seen by EURACTIV.com.

Battle lines and ‘illusions’ ahead of EU summit on Brexit

UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday (27 April) accused the other 27 EU countries of lining up to oppose Britain over Brexit after Germany's Angela Merkel said the UK should have no "illusions" over the exit process.

Better Regulation: expertise over politics?

As the Commission makes a bid for greater democratic legitimacy, it must take care not to allow its technocratic tendencies to sideline the EU’s elected institutions, argue Charles de Marcilly and Matthias Touillon.

Jacek Dominik: EU budget is ‘hostage to national politics’

EU budget commissioner Jacek Dominik said yesterday (24 September) that it was “very dangerous” that over the last few years, the EU budget has become hostage to national politics, and that a “hardcore” of net payers were saying “no” to whatever proposals the Commission was making.

The Council’s brazen Nobel fraud

The message of the EU Council’s Nobel Prize exhibition is a tribute to France's General de Gaulle, writes David Price who wonders: Is the Council now openly declaring it is a Bastion of Gaullism?

Rising poverty and unemployment: Discarded priorities of the EU budget

After more than two years of campaigning for a social pillar in the EU budget, the proposals made last week are extremely disappointing and worrying, writes Pierre Baussand.

Council voting: Who are the EU hardliners and ‘yes men’?

VoteWatch Europe has released its first-ever report examining national voting trends in the Council of the European Union. The survey provides new insights into the main areas of disagreement and could help reveal which member states are ‘most difficult’.

Energy efficiency talks focus on finance, deal uncertain

Financing aspects are dominating ongoing talks on the energy efficiency directive, but member states are keeping their hands firmly on their wallets, EURACTIV has learned.

New treaty gets EU legal clearance, UK sidelined

A draft intergovernmental treaty to tighten fiscal discipline in the eurozone has received the green light from the European Council's legal service, paving the way for a final text to be agreed by the end of January, EU officials said on Friday (16 December).

Member states weigh in on future of EU regional policy

Ahead of a summit on 17-18 June, EU member states have presented an assessment of Europe's regional policy and are due to call on the European Commission to ensure that a proper debate is held on the policy's future.

High expectations of Sweden at EU helm

As Sweden prepares to assume the EU's rotating presidency on 1 July, business, civil society and human rights groups alike are lobbying Stockholm to find a way out of the financial, economic and climate crises by promoting structural reform and ambitious policies.

Sweden’s EU presidency logo sets sights on climate

Swedish EU Affairs Minister Cecilia Malmström unveiled the logo of her country's upcoming EU presidency on Monday (2 March). The design, a golden S-shaped curve dividing - or perhaps uniting - two blue sides was described by the winning advertising agency, Bacon Advertising, as reflecting "openness, dialogue, climate and light".

EU moves to combat illegal fishing, protect ecosystems

Fisheries ministers from the 27-member bloc have given their unanimous backing to Commission proposals to combat illegal fishing and protect vulnerable marine ecosystems, in a move welcomed by European environmental groups.

Watered-down waste directive gets MEPs’ green light

MEPs agreed yesterday (17 June) to back new waste legislation despite the lack of binding goals for member states on waste prevention, while targets for re-use and recycling are included. NGOs and green groups immediately slammed the directive for not going far enough.

Governments seek to water down waste targets

The Parliament and Council are locked in a battle over waste targets, after a trialogue meeting on 2 June in conjunction with the Commission produced no agreement on percentage targets for household and demolition waste.

Sarkozy drops Blair as ‘Mr. Europe’ favourite

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has changed his mind over who should be the first ever permanent President of the European Council, according to press reports.

Blair’s candidacy would give EU more credibility

Tony Blair would give the new position of Council President a "public momentum that very few others would," bringing "credibility to the EU project," argues Luis Simon, a teaching assistant at the Centre for European Politics, Royal Holloway College, University of London. But his candidacy ultimately depends on the "ability and will of the EU 27" to balance the divisions evoked by Iraq and his Eurosceptic image, he explains.

Voting rules matter: Poland’s cause

There is a clear, positive relationship between a member state's power per person in the Council of Ministers and its receipts per person from the EU budget, declares Richard Baldwin of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in an 18 June post on the VOX web log.

Institutional deadlock and the June Summit

It should be possible to reach an agreement over the stalled Constitutional Treaty at the June Summit if two sets of conditions are satisfied, write Sebastian Kurpas and Stefano Micossi in a May 2007 paper for the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

France and Germany step up pressure on Turkey

France and Germany have signalled their intention to set an 18-month deadline for Turkey to open trade links with Cyprus.

NGOs see social issues ‘back on the agenda’

The Party of European Socialists, social NGOs and businesses are equally happy about the 23-24 March 2006 Spring Council's commitment to social cohesion, citizen involvement and job creation for young people.

The Convention on the Future of Europe: The Council of Ministers

Towards a ‘collective government’ for the Union?