The Council of the European Union
The Council of the EU is where national ministers from each EU country meet to negotiate and adopt EU laws.
Highlights
29 October 2026
The EU and its 27 member states are the biggest providers of climate finance in the world. In 2025 they contributed €32.3 billion from public sources and mobilised an additional €9.3 billion in private finance to support developing countries in the fight against climate change. The sources for these figures include the EU budget, the European development fund and the European Investment Bank.
Ireland currently holds the presidency of the Council
Ireland holds the presidency of the Council until 31 December 2026. It is the eighth time that the country has been at the helm of the Council, this time as part of a presidency trio with Lithuania and Greece. The Irish presidency will be guided by the principle of strength with unity.
What the Council does
The Council of the European Union (often referred to simply as 'the Council') brings together the ministers from the governments of the 27 EU member states. The Council's main task is law-making.
It also adopts the EU budget, coordinates policies, concludes international agreements on behalf of the EU and develops the EU's foreign and security policy.
The Council of the EU is a single legal entity. However, in practice, ministers meet in the Council in different thematic groups, known as 'Council configurations'.
Areas of work
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Agriculture and Fisheries Council
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Competitiveness Council
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Economic and Financial Affairs Council
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Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council
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Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council
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Environment Council
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Foreign Affairs Council
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General Affairs Council
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Justice and Home Affairs Council
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Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council
How the Council works
National government ministers adopt EU legislation at Council meetings. Before the member states' ministers vote on an issue, it is first examined and discussed by the Council's preparatory bodies. For a majority of legislation, the Council co-decides with the European Parliament through the ordinary legislative procedure.
The presidency of the Council of the EU, which rotates every six months from one EU country to the next, is responsible for driving the Council's work forward.
All items go through the preparatory bodies (the working parties and Coreper) before ministers take a decision on them.
The Council acts as a co-legislator with the European Parliament in most areas. It also takes decisions to express political positions.
The Council uses three different kinds of voting system depending on the topic: qualified majority, simple majority and unanimity. Qualified majority is used in most cases.
The presidency of the Council sets the agenda and drives the work of the Council forward. The presidency rotates every six months from one EU country to the next.
More than 4 000 meetings are held on average every year across the different levels of the Council. Around 70 to 80 of them are ministerial meetings. The ministerial meetings mostly take place in Brussels, except in the months of April, June and October, when they are held in Luxembourg.
History
See the Council's milestones, from its birth to the present day.
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1958
25 JanuaryThe Council is born
The first meeting of the Council of the EEC takes place under the chairmanship of the Belgian foreign affairs minister.
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1993
1 NovemberMaastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty sees the creation of new policy areas such as common foreign and security policy and justice and home affairs.
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2009
1 DecemberThe Lisbon Treaty
The use of qualified majority voting for decision-making within the Council is extended under the Lisbon Treaty.