EU Council and the European Commission

The week following my return from Rome, our class headed to our two final site visits: The Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

The EU Council (not to be confused with the European Council or the Council of Europe, each of which are separate entities) is sometimes still referred to as the Council of Ministers, and is made up of ministers from each of the 27 EU member states. The actual members of the Council depend on the topic being discussed. For example, if the topic is foreign affairs, then the Council is made up of the foreign ministers from each member state. The Presidency of the Council is held by a single member state, and rotates every six months. Currently (since July), the Council has a Polish Presidency, until January, when Denmark takes over.

The EU Council building.

Polish Presidency

Press room.

Cool ceiling.

One of the meeting rooms for the Council, where we were given a presentation.

The European Commission is the executive body of the EU. The Commission consists of 27 Commissioners, one from each member state; however it differs from the EU Council in the fact that the Commissioners are supposed to represent the EU interests as a whole, rather than the interests of their respective states.

European Commission sign.

Monument to Robert Schuman, who is considered to be one of the founders of the EU, the Council of Europe, and NATO.

No idea why this was in front of the Commission, or what it is supposed to mean.

EU flags.

Another cool conference room that we got to see.

We spent the rest of the week studying, hanging around Brussels, and looking forward to our last weekend trip: Paris.