ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the main governance mechanisms through which the Council becomes engaged in the external relations of the Union. The Council is one of the core decision-making institutions of the European Union (EU) and plays a crucial role in the EU's relations with the outside world. The Council is the organ through which national governments are represented in EU decision-making. The central role of the institution in the overall system of EU governance underpins the importance of national governments in the integration process. Together with the EP the Council is the main legislating body of the EU. In some areas it enjoys exclusive law-making powers. The Council also exercises an important policy co-ordination function. The Council gives all member states, regardless of their size, equal access to the decision-making process as it is based on a one seat per country rule. The Council setting is of particular interest to other regional and global governance contexts beyond the EU.
