Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States

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The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States ( Coreper ) consists of the permanent representatives ( French: représentants permanents ) of the Member States to the European Union or their deputies. The French abbreviation COREPER (French Co mité des re présentants per manents ) is also often used. The country holding the presidency of the Council holds the presidency. The task of COREPER is to prepare the work of the Council of the European Union and to maintain the links between the Council and the other European institutes. The common agricultural policy , for which the Special Committee on Agriculture prepares the Council meetings, does not fall within the scope of Coreper . In the area of common foreign and security policy , the tasks of Coreper partly overlap with those of the Political and Security Committee (PSC).

history

The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States was set up as early as 1958 within the framework of the Council's rules of procedure, modeled on the Coordination Commission (Cocor) in the area of ​​the ECSC Treaty . In 1967, both bodies were merged through Article 4 of the merger agreement , in which Coreper was first mentioned in a contract . The contractual basis today is Article 240 (1) TFEU , which is explained in more detail in the rules of procedure of the Council of the European Union .

activity

Coreper prepares the meetings of the Council of the European Union. He draws up the agenda for the Council meeting and proposes decisions on issues on which there is agreement between the Member States. In addition, the Committee of Permanent Representatives represents the interests of the respective member states vis-à-vis other member states and institutions of the European Union and looks for common positions. The staff of the Permanent Representation provide reports, evaluations and previews to the respective governments in order to give them a basis for shaping their positions in the Council of the European Union.

The permanent representatives act on the basis of instructions from their capitals. It therefore has an important role to play in Community decision-making in the Council.

Procedure for forming an opinion in the Council

In the event of minor disputes, Coreper actually decides on legal acts or non-legal texts based on the discussion in the relevant Council working group . The relevant drafts can then be adopted in the Council as so-called A items without discussion.

Controversial proposals or those on which ministers want to make a political statement - even if there is a sufficient majority - are presented to the Council as so-called B items. Controversial drafts, on which no agreement can be reached in the Council, are referred back to Coreper and, as a rule, first referred back to the relevant Council working group . If the ministers do not reach an agreement in the Council, they can also refer the matter to the European Council , which is made up of the heads of state and government. The European Council itself cannot intervene in EU legislation, but can only issue general guidelines. However, since within the national governments the members of the Council - i.e. the ministers - are subordinate to the members of the European Council - i.e. the heads of government - the compromises of the European Council also serve as guidelines for the decisions of the Council.

Liaison with other EU institutions

In and around Coreper, the government representatives negotiate compromises with the European Commission and the European Parliament (EP). The European Commission is represented in Coreper meetings by high-ranking officials. The respective Coreper chairmen negotiate with representatives of the European Parliament in separate meetings on the basis of the instructions previously given to them in Coreper. Only in meetings of the mediation committee, i. H. During the third reading between the European Parliament and the Council, all member states are again represented by their permanent representatives.

Two working levels

Coreper I

Coreper I (also Coreper 1st part) gathers the deputy permanent representatives who deal with economic issues in the broadest sense ( internal market , industry, energy, telecommunications, research, etc.). Coreper I meetings are organized by assistants to the deputy permanent representatives who meet in the Mertens group established in 1993 . Individual negotiations on the content of legal acts and political texts take place in the relevant Council working group , to which the member states send experts from the capital or instructed attachés from their permanent representation to the EU in Brussels.

The deputy permanent representative of Germany in Coreper I is currently Susanne Szech-Koundouros. The deputy permanent representative of Austria in Coreper I is currently Thomas Oberreiter.

Coreper II

Coreper II (also Coreper Part 2) gathers the permanent representatives who deal primarily with politically sensitive issues, such as common foreign and security policy or police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters , or with institutional and general issues such as the budget of the European Union deal with. Coreper II therefore prepares the meetings of the General Council , the Foreign Affairs Council , the Justice and Home Affairs Council and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council . Coreper II meetings are organized by assistants to the permanent representatives who meet in the Antici group established in 1975 . The preparation of the content, d. H. The detailed negotiation of legal acts and non-legislative texts takes place in the relevant Council working group , to which the member states send technical experts from the relevant ministries or attachés from their permanent representation to the EU in Brussels.

The permanent representative of Germany in Coreper II is currently Michael Clauss . The permanent representative of Austria in Coreper II is currently Nikolaus Marschik .

Liaison offices of the countries

The work of the permanent representations within the framework of the legislative triangle of forces established by the EU treaties - European Parliament, Council and European Commission - is to be distinguished from the areas of responsibility of the liaison offices of the federal states or regions of individual member states, also known as "representations" .

The liaison offices of the federal states represent their regions in the Committee of the Regions , which has been working since 1994 and , unlike the Council of the European Union, only has an advisory role. In addition, the representations of the federal states gain knowledge about what is happening in the EU in Brussels for the state or regional governments sending them and evaluate them. They advertise the interests of their regions of origin in informal connections with representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council.

literature

  • Michael Mentler: The Committee of Permanent Representatives to the European Communities. Nomos-Verlag, Baden-Baden 1996, series of publications on European law, politics and economics, vol. 181, ISBN 978-3-7890-4189-1 (also Passau, diss.)
  • Jochen Grünhage: The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States - a look behind the scenes of policy advice in Brussels. In: Steffen Dagger; Michael Kambeck (Ed.): Policy advice and lobbying in Brussels. VS-Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 3-531-15388-9 .
  • Jakob Lempp : Coreper enlarged: how Enlargement Affected the Functioning of the Committee of Permanent Representatives. In: European Political Economy Review, No. 6 (March 2007), pp. 32-52.
  • Jakob Lempp / Janko Altenschmidt: The Prevention of Deadlock through Informal Processes of 'Supranationalization': The Case of Coreper. In: Journal of European Integration. Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 511-527.

Web links


Individual evidence

  1. ↑ EU Who is who. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .
  2. ↑ EU Who is who. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .