5.1. The Competences of the Council of the EU

The Council of the EU (Council of Ministers) represents national governments. - The Council consists of a representative of each Member State at ministerial level, who may commit the government of the Member State in question and cast its vote.
 
Jointly with the European Parliament, the Council exercises legislative and budgetary functions. It carries out policy-making and coordinating functions.
 
A Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States (COREPER) is be responsible for preparing the work of the Council, included the Council meetings. COREPER is divided into COREPER I composed of deputy permanent representatives and responsible for example for environment, social affairs, internal market, transport. COREPER II is composed of permanent representatives of ambassadorial rank responsible for the issues considered more sensitive, such as economic and financial affairs, external relations (Damian Chalmers).
 
The Council meets in public when it deliberates and votes on a draft legislative act. To this end, each Council meeting shall be divided into two parts, dealing respectively with deliberations on EU's legislative acts and non-legislative activities.

The Council acts by a qualified majority except where the Treaties provide otherwise.
From 1 November 2014, a qualified majority shall be defined as at least 55 % of the members of the Council, comprising at least fifteen of them and representing Member States comprising at least 65 % of the population of the EU.
A blocking minority must include at least four Council members, failing which the qualified majority shall be deemed attained.
 
The transitional provisions relating to the definition of the qualified majority which shall be applicable until 31 October 2014 and those which shall be applicable from 1 November 2014 to 31 March 2017 are laid down in the Protocol No 36 on transitional provisions:
PROTOCOL (No 36)
ON TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,
excerpt:
"TITLE II
PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE QUALIFIED MAJORITY
Article 3
1. In accordance with Article 16(4) of the Treaty on European Union, the provisions of that paragraph and of Article 238(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union relating to the definition of the qualified majority in the European Council and the Council shall take effect on 1 November 2014.
2. Between 1 November 2014 and 31 March 2017, when an act is to be adopted by qualified majority, a member of the Council may request that it be adopted in accordance with the qualified majority as defined in paragraph 3. In that case, paragraphs 3 and 4 shall apply.
Until 31 October 2014, the following provisions shall remain in force, without prejudice to the second subparagraph of Article 235(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
For acts of the European Council and of the Council requiring a qualified majority, members’ votes shall be weighted as follows:
Belgium 12
Bulgaria 10
Czech Republic 12
Denmark 7
Germany 29
Estonia 4
Ireland 7
Greece 12
Spain 27
France 29
Italy 29
Cyprus 4
Latvia 4
Lithuania 7
Luxembourg 4
Hungary 12
Malta 3
Netherlands 13
Austria 10
Poland 27
Portugal 12
Romania 14
Slovenia 4
Slovakia 7
Finland 7
Sweden 10
United Kingdom 29
Acts shall be adopted if there are at least 255 votes in favour representing a majority of the members where, under the Treaties, they must be adopted on a proposal from the Commission. In other cases decisions shall be adopted if there are at least 255 votes in favour representing at least two thirds of the members.
A member of the European Council or the Council may request that, where an act is adopted by the European Council or the Council by a qualified majority, a check is made to ensure that the Member States comprising the qualified majority represent at least 62 % of the total population of the Union. If that proves not to be the case, the act shall not be adopted.
Until 31 October 2014, the qualified majority shall, in cases where, under the Treaties, not all the members of the Council participate in voting, namely in the cases where reference is made to the qualified majority as defined in Article 238(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, be defined as the same proportion of the weighted votes and the same proportion of the number of the Council members and, if appropriate, the same percentage of the population of the Member States concerned as laid down in paragraph 3 of this Article".
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