ABSTRACT
The groups of experts contribute to the preparation of the Commission's legislative proposals by giving an opinion to the Council. This allows the Council to act very early in the legislative process and the Commission to anticipate Member State reactions to its proposals. Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, each session consists of two parts: deliberations on EU legislative acts and non-legislative activities. The treaty provides that the Council shall meet in public when it deliberates and votes on a draft legislative act but otherwise meets behind closed doors. The chapter analyses the organization into six main components: the presidency, the high representative of the Union for foreign affairs and security policy, the configurations, the general secretariat, the committee of permanent representatives and special committees and, finally, the groups and committees. Criminal forms of cooperation are similar to the operation of traditional international organizations in that they do not have the supranational character of Community actions.
