Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers (Gymnich)

from 10 September 2010 to 11 September 2010
12:00 - 15:00

The Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers aims at allowing Ministers to share thoughts about current problems concerning the European Union foreign policy freely and intensely. Rather than reaching formal conclusions, Gymnich looks at outlining the main themes from the European Union Foreign Policy.

Alongside the regular External Relations Council meetings, the Foreign Affairs Ministers from the European Union and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also meet informally. Such an informal meeting takes place every semester.

The informal nature of the meeting means that no binding agreements are made. The meetings give the Foreign Affairs Ministers the opportunity to discuss important current topics with each other in an informal atmosphere.

This meeting is also known by the term 'Gymnich'. This is a reference to the castle in Germany where the first meeting took place during the German presidency of the Council of the European Union in 1974.

Media Programme (ATTENTION: MODIFIED)

Media Information

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Councils: External Relations

Where

Conference centre Egmont, Petit Sablon 8, 1000 Brussels

Attention: the sole entrance for the press is located "Passage de Milan", Boulevard de Waterloo 31, 1000 Brussels

Available services: Work places, catering, audiovisual booths, interview rooms, briefing rooms (Hilton Hotel), press conference rooms (Hilton Hotel)

Contact Accreditation: Nathalie Baret

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Bart Ouvry
Spokesperson
pers@diplobel.fed.be
+32 (0)2 501 80 41
FPS Foreign Affairs

Patrick Deboeck
Deputy Spokesperson
presse@diplobel.fed.be
+32 (0)2 501 80 42
FPS Foreign Affairs

Decision-making process

Council of the EU:
The Council decides

The Council decides on legislative proposals. This takes place in accordance with normal legislative procedure, in consultation with the European Parliament. The Council meets in various configurations. There have been ten council configurations since the Treaty of Lisbon came into effect. Each council configuration deals with a number of fixed areas and is comprised of the authorised national ministers. Every minister in the Council is authorised to enter into agreements on behalf of their government. Each council configuration – except for the Foreign Affairs Council, which is chaired by the High Representative – is chaired by the member state currently presiding over the rotating six month role.
European Parliament:
The European Parliament decides

The European Parliament has various commissions. They prepare the contents of the recommendations for the legislative proposals. The European Parliament, together with the Council, accepts legislative proposals from the European Commission. Since the Treaty of Lisbon came into effect, the procedure whereby both institutions decide on the vast majority of the areas on an equal footing (normal legislative procedure) has been applicable. In this normal legislative procedure, both institutions must approve the legislative proposal in question. The European Parliament can accept, reject or change the content of legislative proposals.
Council working groups and the COREPER:
The council working groups and the COREPER prepare

The council working groups and the Permanent Representatives Committee prepare the Council activities. They attempt to prepare the ground as much as possible for a compromise. There is therefore a long and intensive preparation before every Council meeting. The member state chairing the Council presides over the Coreper and the bulk of the council working groups.
European Commission:
The European Commission draws up new legislative proposals

The European Commission draws up legislative proposals that it presents to the Parliament and the Council. These proposals must protect the interests of the EU as a whole. The Commission is comprised of 27 members. Each member state therefore nominates one member. The College of Commissioners meets every week on Wednesday mornings in Brussels. In these meetings they discuss each point on the agenda and then make a collective decision. Each member of the Commission can request a vote. The European Commission decides by normal majority.

Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

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