{ "content": "

The Council-of-the-European-Union<\/a><\/h1>

The Council-of-the-European-Union<\/a>, also referred to as the Council of Ministers, is a core institution of the European-Union<\/a>. It represents the executive governments of the Member-States<\/a> and serves as a major decision-making body alongside the European-Parliament<\/a>. While the institution is based in Brussels<\/a>, it also holds sessions in Luxembourg<\/a>. It is distinct from the European-Council<\/a>, which is a meeting of heads of state or government.<\/p>

Legislative and Executive Functions<\/h2>

The Council-of-the-European-Union<\/a> negotiates and adopts legislative acts, typically following the ordinary legislative procedure on proposals from the European-Commission<\/a>. It is responsible for coordinating the policies of Member-States<\/a> in specific areas like economic policy and the Common-Foreign-and-Security-Policy<\/a>. Furthermore, it plays a crucial role in concluding international agreements on behalf of the European-Union<\/a>. Detailed information on its mandates is available through its official website<\/a> and the Europa portal<\/a>.<\/p>

Structure and Decision-Making<\/h2>

The Council operates in ten different configurations, including the General-Affairs-Council<\/a> and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin). The Presidency-of-the-Council-of-the-European-Union<\/a> rotates every six months among the Member-States<\/a>. Decision-making is governed by the Treaty-of-Lisbon<\/a>, which established Qualified-Majority-Voting<\/a> as the standard procedure for most policy areas, though unanimity is still required for sensitive topics like taxation or defense. The General-Secretariat-of-the-Council<\/a> provides administrative support, while Coreper<\/a> prepares the groundwork for ministerial meetings.<\/p>