The Evolution of the Council of the EU – An Example of Unintended Consequences?

• In Event: European Union: EU Politics and Law

Abstract

The Council of the EU has been at the center of EU decision-making since the earliest days of the European Economic Community. However, the nature of its central role has changed dramatically as the EU has evolved. In particular its core function within the EU’s institutional structure has shifted from a nearly autocratic executive tasked with both agenda-setting and decision making to one chamber in a largely symmetrical bicameral legislature with shared decision making and only limited agenda setting capacity. This evolution is less well understood than the development of other key EU institutions in part because the transformation of the Council has been both gradual and informal. In addition, the changing character of the Council has occurred largely as a consequence of formal reforms to other core institutions, the European Parliament (EP) and European Council (EUCO). This research examines this transformation through a historical institutionalist lens, identifying critical historical events (the creation of EUCO and shift to direct elections for the EP) and using a detailed analysis of the texts of the treaties themselves and supplemental materials (archival documents, older academic articles and books, etc.) to understand the extent to which the dramatic transformation of Council was intentional or an unintended consequence of institutional reforms aimed at resolving other concerns. This will provide a more comprehensive understanding of both the development of the EU and the character of its political system today.

Author

• Amie Kreppel, University of Florida