The Council of Ministers provides a comprehensive analysis of the Council of Ministers: how it works, its varied activities, functions, and its relationships with the other key EU institutions and the member states. It is a key legislative institution which lies at the fulcrum of decision-making in the European Union.

FIONA HAYES-RENSHAW is Visiting Professor, College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium.

Introduction
PART 1: WHO DOES WHAT?
National Representatives Decide: The Ministers in Council
Officials Prepare the Ground: The Preparatory Bodies
Bureaucrats Organise and Advise:
The Council Secretariat
Taking Turns at the Wheel: The Presidency
PART II: WITH WHOM?
Overlapping Competences: The Council and the European Council
Competition and Cooperation: The Council and the Commission
An Evolving Partnership: The Council and the European Parliament
Not Just Governments: The Council and the Member States
PART III: HOW?
Less Often than Expected: Voting in the Council
Compromise and Consensus: Negotiation and Bargaining in the Council
Conclusions.