The Council either means the European Council of Head of States and Governments, meeting twice a year and taking the major political decisions, or the Council of Ministers.

The Council of Ministers has many formations because they gather Ministers of the same competence to address specific fields, like economic affairs or health. The Council is presided by one Member State which holds the Presidency at that time. Presidencies rotate every six months. Holding the presidency can  sometimes offer an opportunity to push for legislative initiatives or give more general political orientations. The Lisbon Treaty has introduced the creation of a permanent Council President. Herman von Rompuy, is the current President. Presidencies have traditionally been an important avenue to address health issues within both a European and national context.

Meetings of the Council are carefully prepared by the Permanent Representations of the Member States to the EU, both at Ambassadors and working group levels. Permanent representations of big Member States comprise around 120 officials, with more or less than one third of diplomats, one third of civil servants from national ministries and one third of staff working on a contractual basis.