Census results of great significance: numbers of inhabitants - Part 4: Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers)

© Der Rat der Europäischen Union 2006

Together with the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, which is also called Council of Ministers, is responsible for law-making at European level. This body represents the EU's member governments, each being represented by the respective minister. Its composition changes according to subject area: the foreign ministers of the EU member states, for instance, form the "General Affairs Council ", the transport ministers the "Transport Council" and the environment ministers the "Environment Council".

This body also accounts for the number of inhabitants of the individual EU member states – when it comes to taking qualified majority decisions. This principle is to ensure that an adequate proportion is guaranteed between voting weight and population size. Accordingly, a decision can be taken in the Council of Ministers only if at least 55 % of the member states agree and if these represent at least 65 % of the European population. The Treaty of Lisbon extended the principle of qualified majority to many new policy areas such as immigration and culture.

Source: europa.eu