{"id":1688,"date":"2013-03-13T10:44:36","date_gmt":"2013-03-13T10:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/?page_id=1688"},"modified":"2017-04-18T11:22:52","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T11:22:52","slug":"the-characteristics-of-the-european-council","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/","title":{"rendered":"The characteristics of the European Council"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"left\">How did the European Council develop all these functions and powers? This is due to its characteristics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Authority: <\/b>national ultimate decision-makers brought together in a European context<\/li>\n<li><b>Informality: <\/b>the principle of privacy and direct contact<\/li>\n<li><b>Flexibility: <\/b>the rules of procedure are relatively flexible<\/li>\n<li><b>Seniority: <\/b>the balance of power in the European Council (new members and smaller countries have less influence)<\/li>\n<li><b>Intergovernmental character: <\/b>some participants have more power than others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"right\">(Schoutheete, 2012, p.54)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"task_box\">\n<p align=\"left\">Use the information on this page and on previous pages to define the functions of the European Council and think how they link to its key characteristics<b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-role-of-the-european-council\/\">&lt;&lt; Previous \u00a0<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/quiz-2\/\">Next &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How did the European Council develop all these functions and powers? This is due to its characteristics: Authority: national ultimate decision-makers brought together in a European context Informality: the principle of privacy and direct contact Flexibility: the rules of procedure are relatively flexible Seniority: the balance of power in the European Council (new members and<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-wrapper\"><a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/\" title=\"Read More\"> <span class=\"button \">Read More<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"parent":301,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1688","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The characteristics of the European Council - European Studies Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The characteristics of the European Council - European Studies Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How did the European Council develop all these functions and powers? This is due to its characteristics: Authority: national ultimate decision-makers brought together in a European context Informality: the principle of privacy and direct contact Flexibility: the rules of procedure are relatively flexible Seniority: the balance of power in the European Council (new members and Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"European Studies Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-18T11:22:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UoPEuropeanSt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/learning\\\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\\\/the-european-council\\\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/learning\\\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\\\/the-european-council\\\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\\\/\",\"name\":\"The characteristics of the European Council - European Studies Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-13T10:44:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-18T11:22:52+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/learning\\\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\\\/the-european-council\\\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/learning\\\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\\\/the-european-council\\\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/learning\\\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\\\/the-european-council\\\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Learning home page\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/learning\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Module 1: Understanding EU Institutions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/learning\\\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The European Council\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/learning\\\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\\\/the-european-council\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"The characteristics of the European Council\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/\",\"name\":\"European Studies Hub\",\"description\":\"Bringing together interactive learning tools and resources to help students and researchers better understand and engage with the European Union.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hum.port.ac.uk\\\/europeanstudieshub\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The characteristics of the European Council - European Studies Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The characteristics of the European Council - European Studies Hub","og_description":"How did the European Council develop all these functions and powers? This is due to its characteristics: Authority: national ultimate decision-makers brought together in a European context Informality: the principle of privacy and direct contact Flexibility: the rules of procedure are relatively flexible Seniority: the balance of power in the European Council (new members and Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/","og_site_name":"European Studies Hub","article_modified_time":"2017-04-18T11:22:52+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@UoPEuropeanSt","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/","url":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/","name":"The characteristics of the European Council - European Studies Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-03-13T10:44:36+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-18T11:22:52+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/the-characteristics-of-the-european-council\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Learning home page","item":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Module 1: Understanding EU Institutions","item":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The European Council","item":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/learning\/module-1-understanding-eu-institutions\/the-european-council\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The characteristics of the European Council"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/","name":"European Studies Hub","description":"Bringing together interactive learning tools and resources to help students and researchers better understand and engage with the European Union.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1688"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4069,"href":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1688\/revisions\/4069"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hum.port.ac.uk\/europeanstudieshub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}