Lord Bruce of Doningtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will detail the procedures adopted by the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) in determining the agenda for each meeting of the EC Council of Ministers and, in particular, in deciding which items can be signed and agreed without discussion; and whether they will explain the voting arrangements, if any, used for these purposes.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyThe presidency is responsible for drawing up the provisional agenda for each meeting of the Council of Ministers, which may include items requested by other member states or the Commission. The agenda is adopted by the council at the beginning of its meeting. The detailed procedures are set out in Article 2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Council of 24th July 1979, as amended on 20th July 1987, a copy of which is available in the Library.