The Council of Ministers

The the Council of Ministers is the name generally given to the regular meeting, generally weekly, of a Gouvernement (ministers, of which the Prime Minister, also called sometimes President of the Council, and General secretaries). Generally, it is only about part of the government, and not its unit.

Other synonymous expressions are used: Cabinet (the United Kingdom…), Meeting of the government or sometimes simply Government.

Parliamentary modes

In a parliamentary Mode, the Head of the State is erased with the profit of the Chief of the government. The presidency of the Council, in fact, is thus taken by this last.

In Belgium

Role and competences

Its role is to give an account of the government action passed, to define that to come, to establish Projet (S) of law, ordinances and Décret S, to make communications on various subjects and finally to carry out measurements of an individual nature (nomination or promotion of senior officials such as general prefects, officers, prosecutors, vice-chancellors of university, the members of the Commission of the surveys, etc).

It must deliberate and decide on the general policy. It is also the forum where, each week, one takes care of political cohesion within the government coalition.

Under penalty of nullity, it must deliberate on:

- all projects of decrees which must, under the terms of the Constitution or of a law, to be the subject of a preliminary deliberation in the Council of Ministers;

- " projects of délibérations" having for goal, either to authorize the going beyond of the voted appropriations, or to ask a provisional visa the Court of Auditors, or to impose the visa of the Court of Auditors;

- the introduction of proceedings for annulment of a Community or regional decree, or of an ordinance at the Court of arbitration.

With the the United Kingdom

The characteristic of the United Kingdom east to have two Cabinets; this specificity results from the old two-party system in this country:

the official Cabinet sits at the 10 of the street Downing Street in London, which becomes the house of the Prime Minister.

With the Canada

See the article Cabinet of Canada

Presidential regimes

In a Presidential regime, on the contrary, there is no Head of government. Its functions are provided by the Head of State, which chairs the Council.

With the the United States

The Cabinet (the United States) is an old institution of the Federal state, since its formation goes back to the first president, George Washington, which had named four people to assist it.

Since the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, however, the Cabinet lost of its influence, with the profit of the " Executive Office off the President" and of the " National Security Council".

Others

In France

Presidency of the Council

In France, the Council meets under the presidency of the President of the Republic. In the event of prevention of this last, it can be exceptionally held under that of the Prime Minister, by delegation express and with an day order determined in collaboration with the President.

The Council of Ministers chaired by the Head of the State is a specifically French Institution, without equivalent in any Western parliamentary mode, since the Exécutif is bicéphal there: the President and the Prime Minister preserve both their prerogatives under the V {{E}} République, even if the power struggles evolve/move according to whether one is in normal period (prevalence of the President) or in period of Cohabitation (prevalence of the Prime Minister).

Procedure

In France, the Council of Ministers meets, except extraordinary event, every Wednesday mornings with the Murat Living room of the Elys3ee palace.

The use wants that the Prime Minister sat vis-a-vis the president of the republic.

Traditionally, the Foreign Minister makes a brief review of the international topicality. Then, the President of the Republic calls on the various ministers whose action is with the day order or who have to defend a bill, then the Council concludes by possibly adding a remark to it on a precise subject, if it wishes to give him a particular echo. He signs the acts deliberated by the Council.

At the conclusion of the council, an official press release is published and often commented by the minister Porte-parole of the government.

In August, the Council takes three weeks of holidays in general.

Particular cases

Exceptionally, the Council of Ministers takes place with Strasbourg Friday September 7th 2007, on will of the Head of the State, the spokesperson of the Elysium, David Martinon, having announced that it was about " to show that in France, there is not only the capital, that there is regional capital and that political life, economic, administrative is spread elsewhere than in Paris".

For the European Union

The Council of Ministers is the semi-official name of the Conseil of the European Union.

In ex- Soviet Union

The Council of Ministers held the executive power theoretically, actually with the hands of the General secretary of PCUS. The Council was composed industrial ministers, presidents of various committees of State, and presidents of agencies with ministerial statute. This committee was at the top of a vast economic administration, including/understanding the apparatus of planning of State, the ministries industrial, the trusts (intermediate level between the ministries and the companies), and finally the government enterprises. The Council of Ministers worked out its directives and sent them to the Gosplan, which gathered the data on the Plan.

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

Site of the French Council of Ministers, with their day order
Site of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Site of the Belgian Council of the mistres
Official site of the Cabinet of the United States

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