The Council brings together the ministers from the 27 Member States. Their aim is to defend the interests of their countries, but also to take common decisions. This can be tough.

A-Z: C for Council of Ministers

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Commission, Parliament, Council.   What do they all mean?

I'll explain, as without these   you won't get how Europe works.

To function, the EU   relies on several organisations.

Each one has a clear role.   There's the Commission,

which is like the government   of the Union,

the Parliament which represents   the citizens,

and there is the Council   of Ministers of the EU,

who represent the countries.   Following?

The ministers of the 27 countries   meet here in Brussels or Luxembourg,

depending on the month.   We are going to film their arrival.

Ministers who work on the same topics   meet. They discuss transport,

This morning, it's the 27 ministers   for agriculture meeting at the Council.

They are met by a mass of journalists,   including myself.

Today, they're making decisions   on limiting the fishing

of all kinds of fish   in European waters.

Hello, how are you? Are you prepared to   reduce fishing in your country,

to save langoustine in the North Sea?   Do you have a scoop for us?

It's so we can talk about   Europe in the media.

It's hard to know the position that each   country will take at the Council.

Here we are in the Council of the EU.   Let's have a look at what happens.

In the meeting, ministers defend   their country's interests,

whilst also looking   for a communal decision.

It's not easy, especially when   decisions require unanimity,

This is the case for defence or when   accepting a new country into the EU.

Luckily, there are now more issues where   majority voting is used, like today.

To protect European fish stocks,   fishing has to be reduced.

Each minister defend his country's   fishing and the work of its fishermen.

This has to be shared   among all the other countries

and then the ministers   have to knuckle down.

At the Council,   ministers must compromise,

This agreement is voted in   by the majority.

This is the Minister who heads the   meeting. She leads the discussions.

But next semester, another   Minister will be in her place,

as the presidency   of the Council rotates.

Each Member State takes on   this role for 6 months.

Right now, Spain is in this role   until June 2010.

The European Commission   is also at the meeting,

to defend the common interests   of the EU.

Let's let them get to work. See   you in the press room in a few hours,

At the end of the day, the Council give   the media the results of their debate.

The Council of Ministers can adopt   texts that will become European law

They share their legislative powers   with the European Parliament.

In the coming weeks, the MEPs will give   their views on this decision.

There will be a lot more debate   before this proposal is voted on.

That's it on the Council   of Ministers of the EU.

That's not all on the word 'Council'.   I'll tell you more next time. Bye!