Explained | European Council

• European Union leaders have agreed on the officials who will hold the key positions in the world’s biggest trading bloc in the coming years. 

• German conservative Ursula von der Leyen has been picked as president of the European Commission for a second five-year term. 

• At a summit in Brussels, the bloc’s 27 national leaders also picked former Portuguese premier Antonio Costa as the future chair of their European Council meetings and selected Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the next EU foreign policy chief.

European Union’s Seven Institutions

• The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 countries. It operates an internal (or single) market which allows free movement of goods, capital, services and people between member states.

• The European Union’s institutional setup is unique and its decision-making system is constantly evolving. 

• The powers, responsibilities and procedures of the EU’s institutions are laid down in the founding treaties of the EU: the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (1957) and the Treaty on European Union (1992). More recently, the Lisbon Treaty (2007) introduced certain amendments and additions to their competencies.

• There are four main decision-making institutions which lead the EU’s administration. 

• These institutions collectively provide the EU with policy direction and play different roles in the law-making process. 

They are:

i) The European Parliament 

ii) The European Council

iii) The Council of the European Union

iv) The European Commission.

Their work is complemented by other institutions and bodies, which include:

v) The Court of Justice of the European Union

vi) The European Central Bank

vii) The European Court of Auditors.

Who is Antonio Costa?

• Antonio Costa was born in Lisbon on July 17, 1961.

• He is nicknamed “Gandhi of Lisbon”.

• He has his roots in Goa where his grandfather was born and his father spent most of his life.

• In 2017, he was presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India. He also holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.

• He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1991 and made his debut in Government as Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1995. He was appointed Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in 1997, holding direct responsibilities for the organisation of the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition.

• He became a Member of the European Parliament in June 2004. He was elected vice-president of the European Parliament.

• Costa was elected as Lisbon mayor in 2007.

• He became Prime Minister in November 2015 and was reappointed in October 2019.

European Council

• The European Council is the highest political entity of the European Union.

• The members of the European Council are the heads of state or government of the 27 EU member states, the European Council President and the President of the European Commission.

• It defines the EU’s overall political direction and priorities, traditionally by adopting conclusions. It does not negotiate or adopt EU laws.

• European Council conclusions can also set a deadline for reaching agreement on a particular item or for the presentation of legislative proposal. In this way, the European Council is able to influence and guide the EU’s policy agenda.

Creation of European Council

• Following the Copenhagen Summit in December 1973, which made provision for summits to be held whenever necessary, the Paris Summit of December 1974, hosted by President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, created the European Council. It was created with the intention of establishing an informal forum for discussion between heads of state or government.

• The new European Council met for the first time in March 1975 in Dublin.

• In December 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force, reforming the structure of the EU and the way in which it functions. The European Council became a fully-fledged institution with its own president. Earlier, the European Council had been an informal body and the head of the European Council was an unofficial position.

• The president of the European Council is elected by the European Council by a qualified majority. The president is elected for a 2.5 year term, which is renewable once. 

• The European Council mostly takes its decisions by consensus. However, in certain specific cases outlined in the EU treaties, it decides by unanimity or by qualified majority. If a vote is taken, neither the European Council President nor the Commission President take part.

• The European Council President chairs, drives forward the work of the European Council and facilitates its cohesion and consensus. The position of President of the European Council became a permanent and full-time role following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009.