The Council of The European Union - The European Council - The Council of Europe

The Council of The European Union
The Council of The European Union (informally, the Council of Ministers or just the Council) is the main decision-making body of the European Union. the Council is the Community’s legislative body; for a wide range of Community issues, it exercises that legislative power in co-decision with the European Parliament;
The ministers of the Member States meet within the Council of the European Union. Depending on the issue on the agenda, each country will be represented by the minister responsible for that subject (foreign affairs, finance, social affairs, transport, agriculture, etc.). Usually the foreign affairs ministers coordinate these meetings.
The Council is presided over for a period of six months by each Member State in turn, in accordance with a pre-established rota. Presently Portugal is responsible, for the third time, to carry out this task, after the Presidencies of 1992 and 2000, taking over from Germany on 1 July 2007 and handing it over to Slovenia on 01 January 2008.

The European Council
The European Council (referred to as a European Summit) is the highest political body of the European Union, which meets at least twice a year (and in extraordinary occasions, whenever it is necessary. The European Council brings together the heads of state or government of the European Union and the president of the Commission. Its meeting is chaired by the member currently holding Presidency of the Council of the European Union. While the Council has no formal executive or legislative powers (it is a body, not an institution, of the Union), it deals with major issues and decisions taken are “a major impetus in defining the general political guidelines of the European Union” .
Although, unlike the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors, the European Council is not legally an institution of the European Community it nevertheless plays a vital role in all European Union fields of activity whether it be by giving impetus to the Union or defining general political guidelines, or by coordinating, arbitrating or disentangling difficult questions.

The Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is the oldest organization working for European integration since 1949. It is an international political organization, independent of European Union, but did influence the EU history and does cooperate with EU in many areas. The seat of the Council of Europe is in Strasbourg. The Council of Europe seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals.
The Council of Europe has a genuine pan-European dimension:
- 47 member countries
- 1 applicant country: Belarus; Belarus ‘ special guest status has been suspended due to its lack of respect for human rights and democratic principles.

In conclusion:
- The Council of The European Union - an EU insititution
- The European Council - a regular reunion of heads of state or government of the EU Members
- The Council of Europe - an international organization, independent of EU