In this interview, Norbert Schwaiger, former Head of the Press Office of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, gives an account of the decision-making process in the Community field. He outlines, in particular, the interaction between the Commission, the Parliament and the Council and recalls the preparatory work carried out in the Council by the working parties, the committees and Coreper before final decisions are taken at ministerial level.

In this interview, Norbert Schwaiger, former Head of the Press Office of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, outlines the specific features of the decision-making process in the areas covered by intergovernmental cooperation: the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) and justice and home affairs (JHA). He draws particular attention to the limited role of the Commission in these areas, to the existence of special preparatory bodies in the Council and to the interaction between Community policies and the areas covered by intergovernmental cooperation.

In this interview, Norbert Schwaiger, former Head of the Press Office of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, outlines the consequences of the gradual increase in the legislative powers of the European Parliament for relations between the Council and Parliament and for the Council’s policy of transparency.