Whose interests does the Council of Ministers represent?

The main policy-making bodies of the EU are the Commission, the Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. The Commission has 17 members appointed by EU countries for four-year terms. It is an executive body with the right of proposing initiatives to the Council of Ministers. This Council is made up of the foreign ministers from the member nations. Although the Commission represents community interests, the Council represents the national interests of the members. Members of the Council rotate the presidency with each holding the office for six-month terms.
     The European Parliament had 626 members in 1995. The representatives are elected by citizens of member nations. The number of representatives differs according to the size of each country. Germany for example, has 99 representatives, while Luxembourg has six. When the Parliament meets, the representatives sit in political groups, not by nation. Some of the political groups are: the Socialists, the European People’s party (or Christian Democrats), the Liberal Democratic and Reform Group, the European Democrats, and the Greens (an environmental group).
     Other EU institutions are the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, and the European Investment Bank. The Court of Justice, founded in 1958, reviews the legality of acts of the Commission and Council. The Court of Auditors, founded in 1977, monitors the revenues and expenditures of the EU. Since 1958 the Economic and Social Committee has revised the Commission and the Council on general economic policy. The Committee has 189 members representing employers, labor unions, farmers, professions, consumers, and small businesses. The European Investment Bank, founded in 1958, is an independent public institution that oversees long-term investment.