the Council has the President & a Secretary-General. A President of a Council occurs as Minister of the state presently holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union; while a Secretary-General is the head of the Council Secretariat, chosen per member states by unanimity. A Secretary-General when well serves as a High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). A Council is assisted by Committee of Permanent Representatives（COREPER）, which consists of a ambassadors or their deputies from either the diplomatic representations of the Member States to the European Communities. COREPER usually prepares a Council agenda, & negotiates kid & non-uncontroversial matters, allowing controversial issues for discussion, & more issues for formal agreement, per Council. within a image below COREPER, civil servants from either a member states negotiate in Council Working Groups, typically reaching de facto agreement which is formalised across COREPER & the Council of Ministers. A Council & its preparative bodies come supported by European career civil servants (close to 3 thous& when of July 2005) providing general advice, qualified legal advice, translation services and impartial negotiation assistance.

A Council of a European Union should become distinguished from either the European Council, which meets four times a year within what is informally referred to as a 'European Summit' (EU summit), & occurs as closely related however separate person, manufactured higher sustaining a heads of state & government of the member states, whose mission is to provide counsel and high level policy to the Council.
These are likewise to exist as distinguished from either a Council of Europe which is a wholly separate international organisation (at present 46 states), non the European institution.

Formations
The Justus Lipsius building, the Council of the European Union office in Brussels

Legally speaking, the Council occurs as individual a cappella, however these are within practice divided into many different councils, for each one treating by having a different functional front yard. Apiece council is attended by the different nature and severity of minister. So, e.g., meetings of the Council around its Agriculture & Piscary formation come attended per agriculture ministers of every member state. There are presently nine formations:

General Affairs & External Relations (GAERC): A first of the formations, GAERC is composed of ministers for foreign affairs and meets once the year. Since June 2002 it has held separate meetings on general affairs & external relations. The GAERC likewise coordinates preparation for & watch-as much as meetings of the European Council. At its sessions in External Relations, under a context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy also takes part. Economic & Financial Affairs (Ecofin): Composed of political economy & minister of finance of the member states. Agriculture & Piscary: One of a oldest configurations, this will bring together another time a year a ministers for agriculture & piscary, & the commissioners responsible agriculture, piscary, food safety, veterinary questions & public health matters. Justice & Front yard Affairs Council (JHA): This configuration will bring together Justice ministers & Interior Ministers of the Member States. Employment, Sociable Policy, Health & Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO): Composed of employment, social protection, consumer protection, health & equal opportunities ministers. Fight: Created within June 2002 through the merging of three last configurations (Internal Market, Industry & Locate). Based on the things on the agenda, this formation is composed of ministers responsible areas like european affairs, industry & research project. Conveyance, Telecommunications & Energy: As well created within June 2002, through a merging of threesome policies under a single configuratiin, & by owning a composition besides varying based on data from the specific things on its the agenda. This formation meets or so when each deuce months. Environment: Composed of environment ministers, world health organization meet astir fourfold a year. Education, Youth & Culture (EYC): Composed of education, culture, youth & communications ministers, world health organization meet in ternion or even fourfold a year.

Voting

A Council votes either by unanimity or even by Qualified Majority Voting. a electoral system utilized for a given guide depends on the policy front yard to which that guide belongs; based on data from the instauration accord, a few cases postulate unanimity, when others necessitate sole a qualified majority. Possibly around people areas which involve the qualified majority, a Council is compulsory to try to email a unanimous guide in which conceivable.

Countries of the EU hang on to different many votes in the Council. A total of votes held by both united states is depending indirectly on the size of the united states's people, however little countries come granted the greater total of votes than their people would strictly merit. This conception is aimed at balancing a voices of big countries by using people of little countries.

In 1 November 2004, modified ballot weights from either a Treaty of Nice came into effect (this date was revised per Treaty of Accession 2003 from the originally designed date of 1 January, 2005). the Nice Treaty likewise will bring for proven majority ballot to postulate a 'double majority' of each people & total of countries. Farther revisions to the electoral system come mass produced in the projected Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, which was signed on 29 October, 2004 but has yet to exist as ratified by 100% member states.

Political parties
Independent article: Parties in the Council of the European Union

About totally of a leaders & ministers of both member state belong to political parties at the national level. Several one national parties belong to formal political groupings in the European Parliament. Still no formal political groups or even alliances in a Council, & countries led by similar political parties come typically nin agreed on questions that precede the immune system. Nevertheless a table following describes a todays breakdown of person affiliations within a Council, when of March 2005, in terms of the European parliamentary alliances by using which the leader of every member state is indirectly associated.