Question

What is the composition of the Council?
A. Ministers of the Member States
B. Ministers of the Non-Member States
C. Representatives elected by the European Parliament
D. None of these

Answer 1

Hint: The council of the European Union consists of government representatives at ministerial level and is regarded as the main European union forum for debate and delegations. It is a part of decision making including commission, parliament and council.

Complete answer: The council of the EU is informally called as the council of government ministers. The main task of the council includes a meeting to discuss, adopt and amend laws and coordinate policies therefore it is the institution which represents the ministers of member states. The council plays an important role in the intergovernmental cooperation, cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs and the common foreign and security policies of all the new members.
-Ministers of non-member states can also participate in the council of Europe by the member states. However, for non-members, there has to be a unanimous agreement of the parties to be/get invited. A request accession has to be initiated to the secretary-general of the Council of Europe which is mandatory to be signed by either the minister of foreign affairs or a diplomatic representative for inviting a non-member state.
-The representatives also known as parliamentarians are elected every five years by universal adult suffrage and become the members of the European parliament. However, before 1979 they were appointed by the national parliaments.

Note: The council of EU was merged with the executive bodies in 1967. The composition of the council varied according to the agenda of the meeting discussion. Don't get confused with the European Council which is a quarterly summit where only EU leaders meet to set a broad direction and a council of Europe which is not an EU body.