Council Configurations
Each Member State participates in preparing the work of the Council and in its decision-making
The Council is made up of the ministers of the Member States. It meets in nine different configurations depending on the subjects under discussion. For example, the “General Affairs and External Relations” configuration is made up of foreign affairs ministers, the “Justice and Home Affairs” configuration of justice and home affairs ministers, etc.
All the work of the Council is prepared or co-ordinated by the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER), made up of the permanent representatives of the Member States working in Brussels and their assistants. The work of this Committee is itself prepared by some 250 committees and working groups consisting of delegates from the Member States.
Among these, certain committees have a specific role of providing co-ordination and expertise in a given area, such as, for example, the Economic and Financial Committee, the Political and Security Committee (in charge of monitoring the international situation in the areas of foreign policy and common security and of providing, under the responsibility of the Council, political supervision and strategic direction in crisis management operations) and the Co-ordinating Committee, responsible for preparing work in the area of police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters.
The Council
General Affairs and External Relations
Economic and Financial Affairs
Cooperation in the fields of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA)
Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
Competitiveness
Transport, Telecommunications and Energy
Agriculture and Fisheries
Environment
Education, Youth and Culture