ABSTRACT
The Council of Ministers is the European Union (EU) institution that ensures that the interests of the member states are taken into account in the EU decision-making process. The Council of Ministers is the collective name for the different configurations of member states' government representatives, who have the power to make decisions for their governments. That is typically the ministers in the national government, but it can sometimes be the state secretaries or EU ambassadors. The official name of the institution is the Council of the EU. The Council of Ministers makes laws for the EU – either alone or together with the European Parliament. All EU legislation has passed through the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers is characterized by a diplomatic culture. The diplomatic – intergovernmental – nature of the council is becoming more and more relaxed the larger the EU grows.
