Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union (also known as the Council of Ministers, or even as just the Council) is a component of the EU legislative branch.
Composition
The council is composed of governmental representatives from each member state. For example, when a session is convened for agricultural policy, each member state sends the minister of agriculture (or equivalent).
The council is headed by a president. The presidency rotates automatically among member states every six months. The post is then held by that government's representative.
Powers
The Council nominates the commissioners of the European Commission (subject to approval by the European Parliament).
On most matters, the council votes by qualified majority (alternatively double majority) rules:
- 55% of the membership, AND
- 65% of the overall population.
Furthermore, if legislating without a proposal from the Commission, reinforced qualified majority rules apply:
72% of the membership, AND
- 65% of the overall population.
In practice almost all votes are unanimous, and almost all exceptions to that rule are nearly unanimous. These complex voting rules exist to force compromise.
Lastly, note that there are specific matters that mandatorily use unanimity rules, e.g. union membership.