COREPER – THE TIP Of THE ICEBERG Of EUROPEAN UNION COUNCIL COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS

Kovačević Maja (Docent, fakultet političkih nauka Univerziteta u Beogradu), maja.kovacevic@fpn.bg.ac.rs

The goal of this article is to explore the complexity of the EU Council’s functioning from the angle of its working bodies functioning. COREPER, the EU Council’s best known coordinating body, is the iceberg of the whole network of committees and working groups and is importantforthe understanding ofthe so-called EU “commitology“ phenomena. European integration process led to the proliferation of different kind of working groups. Characteristic of Council’s working groups is development of specific functioning focused to compromise as the basis for decision making, which is confirmed by empirical research. On the other hand, these bodies, as the Council itself, reflect the standing contradiction between supranational and national aspects of EU decision making.

Keywords: European Union, Council of the European Union, COREPER, committees, EU Council’s working groups