Executive power in the European Union: The functions and limits of the Council of Ministers*

The European integration process depends on collective decisions being reached that bind the member states. These decisions emerge mainly from the Council of Ministers, in which ministers and officials drawn from member governments negotiate. This article, summarizing a larger study, identifies the main features of the Council, its institutional ‘performance’ and its negotiating mode, and argues that this is based on much more than the defence of ‘national interests'; both ideas and definitions of collective interests are important in the debate. The process is not self‐contained but dependent on the interplay with other institutions of the European Union and the domestic politics of member states. The balancing of different concerns within a largely consensual process does not equip the Council to bear the weight of predominant executive responsibility. Thus in the discussion of proposals for reform at the next Intergovernmental Conference, the limitations of the Council need to be taken into account.