Council
Advocacy Toolbox

Consult the outcome of requests for access to documents of EU institutions under Regulation 2001/1049 or file your own request. AskTheEU.org is a civil society open source platform. Requests can also be filed via the website of the institution holding the documents.

Calendar of meetings of the Council and its preparatory bodies. Filter by Council configuration to access relevant meetings.

Official directory of the EU

Independent and impartial non-judicial body that holds the EU’s institutions and agencies to account. File a complaint to report maladministration by an institution. Read the reports of the Ombudsman's proactive investigations on systemic issues.

Access to the various steps in the preparation, adoption, scrutiny and publication of secondary legislation. Calendar of meetings of expert groups advising the Commission on Delegated Acts.

Identify representatives of Member States in the Council and its preparatory bodies. Level of transparency varies for each Member State.

Access the Presidency programme and calendar of events of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU

Register of groups advising the Commission for the preparation and implementation of legislation and policies, and of other consultative entities managed by the Commission.

Programme of the Trio Presidency of the Council of the EU (Spain-Belgium-Hungary, July 2023 - December 2024)

Access documents of the Council of the EU and European Council that have been made public or request access: legislative documents, meeting documents (agendas, minutes, conclusions, votes, outcomes), press releases.

Identify working parties and committees preparing decisions of Ministers

Register of EU law, EU case law and parliamentary questions. Includes a feature to search by EU lawmaking procedures. Also includes a register of national law and case law of Member states.

Understand the different parts of EU legislative acts and the principles that guide their drafting and amending.

Comitology procedures give Member States a say in implementing acts. The register contains a list of all comitology committees and documents that enable you to trace the different stages of an implementing act throughout its entire lifecycle. For delegated acts, see the Register of Commission Expert Groups.

List of presidencies of the Council of the EU until 2030.

Access the Presidency programme and calendar of events of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU

What interests are being pursued, by whom and with what budgets? See also lobbyfacts.eu and www.integritywatch.eu

Watch public deliberations and press conferences of the Council.

Understand the Council voting sytem and map Member States' positions

Overall policy framework of the European Council for the 2019-2024 institutional cycle. It focuses on four main priorities: protecting citizens and freedoms; developing a strong and vibrant economic base; building a climate-neutral, green, fair and social Europe; promoting European interests and values on the global stage.

Understand the decision-making process for secondary legislation.

Find measures adopted by EU Member States at national or regional level to transpose EU directives into national law.

Access the Presidency programme and calendar of events of the Cezch Presidency of the Council of the EU

Access the Presidency programme and calendar of events of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU

Programme of the Trio Presidency of the Council of the EU (France-Czech Republic-Sweden, January 2022-June 2023)