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Even as it is, "Council Conclusions" are generally circulated for discussion and agreement in the week prior to the meeting so that the outcome of formal meetings are generally already a "forgone conclusion". Most decisions have already been made by consensus beforehand.
It is only when there is a genuine crisis, or unforeseen developments, when decisions have to be made "on the hoof" at the actual formal meetings themselves. The professional diplomats and EU Officials hate it when this happens because they lose control of the process.
The UK has been trying to delay conclusions until the last minute, in the hope of stampeding Prime Ministers into a hasty decision. It hasn't been working. There is a reason the process is so convoluted. The issues are complex with so many interests involved. Personally I am nearly always surprised at how well the system works considering there are 27 governments involved.
Look at how difficult one government is finding it to come up with agreed positions on Brexit... Index of Frank's Diaries
Although the European Council has no direct legislative power, under the "emergency brake" procedure, a state outvoted in the Council of Ministers may refer contentious legislation to the European Council. However, the state may still be outvoted in the European Council.
The The ordinary legislative procedure, when it occurs, is incredibly document intensive with an enormous paper trail of amendments as it winds it's way through the process:
The legislative functions of the Council
The decision-making process begins with the European Commission sending the proposal for a new law, after it has been approved by the College of Commissioners. The working parties of the Council of Ministers receive the proposal and identify points of agreement and disagreement (agreement listed as I; disagreement and further discussion as II). Then they send the proposal to COREPER. COREPER looks at the proposal and tries to reach agreements on the remaining problems. It divides points into two categories: A items (agreement reached), B items (disagreement). The agreed A items are sent to relevant Councils. The Councils look at the proposal and decide whether to approve it or not and very often they agree without voting (McCormick, 2011 B, p. 194). When a vote is needed however, Qualified Majority Voting is used in most cases. The number of voices given to each Member State is specified by the Treaty. You can use the voting calculator to see which countries have the most votes. Once the decision has been reached by the Council, the proposal goes to the European Parliament. The Parliament and the Council might pass it back and forth - with amendments - up to twice. If no agreement is reached, the proposal goes to the meeting of the Conciliation Committee, made up of representatives of the Council and the Parliament and attended by the representatives of the Commission, who amend the proposal until they reach an agreement. The proposal is sent to the Council and the Parliament for the final reading and vote. They can adopt it as a legislative law or reject it.
The number of voices given to each Member State is specified by the Treaty. You can use the voting calculator to see which countries have the most votes.
Once the decision has been reached by the Council, the proposal goes to the European Parliament. The Parliament and the Council might pass it back and forth - with amendments - up to twice. If no agreement is reached, the proposal goes to the meeting of the Conciliation Committee, made up of representatives of the Council and the Parliament and attended by the representatives of the Commission, who amend the proposal until they reach an agreement. The proposal is sent to the Council and the Parliament for the final reading and vote. They can adopt it as a legislative law or reject it.
It's normal, in business...
The process, including any votes is well recorded.
unless they are all playing into a pre-existing narrative about "anonymous bureaucrats in Brussels" wielding all the power when in fact the decisions are made by ministers?
By gum, I think you've cracked it < /irony> It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
On 13 February 2018, the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, published her recommendations in a case regarding the (lack of) transparency at the Council of the European Union by failing to record and make publicly available the positions of the different EU Member States during negotiations on legislative proposals.
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