Coreper I

Role

Coreper I (where the 'I' refers to the roman numeral for '1') does preparatory work for the Council in six main policy areas corresponding to Council configurations.

• Agriculture and Fisheries Council

• Competitiveness Council

• Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council

• Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council

• Environment Council

• Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council

Composition and meetings

Coreper I is composed of the 27 deputy permanent representatives of the EU member states. Its meetings are chaired by the deputy permanent representative of the country that holds the presidency of the Council of the EU.

At Coreper I meetings, the deputy permanent representatives represent and can negotiate on behalf of their national governments.

The deputy permanent representatives usually meet at least once a week at the Council building in Brussels.

Mertens group

The 'Mertens group' is a cross-sectoral working party consisting of the closest collaborators to the deputy permanent representatives. This group prepares the Coreper I meetings and helps to form an initial idea of the positions that will be taken at Coreper.

See also