About Us

Presentation Council

 

 

The General Secretariat of the Council provides support to two institutions :

*The Council of the European Union

*The European Council

The Council of the European Union is made up of a representative of each member state at ministerial level who is able to speak for the government of that member state. It is the main decision making and legislative body of the EU but, in many areas, it shares that role with the European Parliament. The presidency of the Council is held by one of the member states in turn for a period of six months.

The ministers are not present on a permanent basis since they have their role in their respective governments, thus continuity is provided for by ambassadors who meet in the Permanent Representatives committee known by its French acronym COREPER. COREPER prepares the decisions of the Council.

The European Council is made up of the Heads of State or Government of the 28 member states. It gives impetuous and direction to the other European institutions. It is presided over by Donald Tusk (with a two and a half year term of office), it meets at least four times a year but, in practice, much more frequently.

Approximately three thousand civil servants and other agents assist the Council of the European Union and the European Council under the authority of the Secretary General.

The Council section of the Union Syndicale Brussels is led by the seven members of the executive committee elected directly by the members in the Council Secretariat.

If you need more information about our actions within the Council, please upload our leaflet in your language :

BG ; CS ; DA ; DE ; EL ; EN ; ES ; ET ; FI ; FR ; GA ; HR ; HU ; IT ; LT ; LV ; MT ; NL ; PL ; PT ; RO ; SK ; SL ; SV.

archives / tracts / newsletters

  • Record of Disagreement between the Council of the EU and the Trade Unions of the Framework Agreement of 28 March 2006 (only in EN)
  • June 2023, For the second time in its history, the ‘Method’ for updating our salaries and pensions, which was devised by Union Syndicale and introduced as a result of battles fought over more than 40 years by the staff of the institutions, in particular at the Council, has resulted this year in an intermediate update.
  • January 2023, Note to the Secretary-General regarding the review of Decision 58/2021 about sustainable mobility contribution for staff travel
  • US Flash October 2023 on Certification, JSIS rules and the value of giving the power of attorney, The Picard case – What does it mean for GSC staff?, and Why Union Syndicale is the leading union in the European civil service!
  • October 2023 (FR only) Agreement on working time, telework and leave
  • September 2023 US Flash September
  • August 2023 Outcome of negotiations on flexitime
  • US Flash June 2023 on Lost promotion possibilities, Flexitime – Chronogestor replaced by… yes: Sysper, A new internal competition for AST1 and AST2 will be published soon, USF Congress – the four-day week, and low salaries, and The value of our publications.
  • US Flash May 2023 on how We need a radical reform of our reporting system, Problems at EPSO, Social dialogue at the GSC, When are a child’s studies considered finished?, Recruitment policy and Excessive workload.
  • March 2023 Carers and careers
  • US Flash January 2023 includes Representativeness of trade unions: Union Syndicale above 60 %, Carry-over of annual leave, Place your bets now! The staff appraisal season has started!, Uniforms, and Contribution to sustainable mobility,
  • January 2023 Note to the Secretary General
    • US-Flash September 2022 includes ‘Lost’ promotions, Overtime / standby / Flexitime, A new reform of the Staff Regulations?, A hollowed-out GSC, and some good news from the Court.
    • 27 July 2022 : AD Internal Competition – Support for candidates. Union Syndicale is offering a good grounding to candidates at all stages of the selection procedure.
    • US Flash June 2022 includes workload, Internal competitions, + 2,4 % intermediate adjustment in 2022 due to high inflation. Telework ‘from abroad’ and Join Union Syndicale!
    • June 2022, HR & You recently informed us that ‘pursuant to the Staff Regulations and based on data from Eurostat, an intermediate indexation (update) of salaries of 2.4% will take effect as from 1 January 2022.
    • March 2022, Union Syndicale Fédérale, PSI and EPSU are appealing for solidarity with the workers and people of Ukraine in setting up Ukraine Solidarity Fund
    • February 2022, The Method for adapting salaries and pensions is based on a combination of changes to the purchasing power of national civil servants, as well as changes to the cost of living in Belgium and Luxembourg. Inflation is currently at record levels. How will our salaries be adjusted?
    • US Flash January 2022 includes The staff appraisal season has started, 2021 certification, Reimbursement of public transport costs, and Endangered species: the EU official.
  • November 2021, Salary and pensions updates, the Method in 2021: lost ground still not made up.
  • US Flash October 2021  on Reimbursement of public transport costs, The GSC Coronavirus measures – how do they measure up?, and The unexpected renaming of COPEC.
  • US Flash May 2021 on AD rotation, Disagreement on external recruitment, Teleworking from abroad — Order T-12/21, and The election of the Staff Committee – Union Syndicale / FFPE say THANK YOU.
  • 05 May 2021 : Telework from Abroad
  • US Flash January 2019 includes a poem about Sysper, Sysper and other MIPSs, 360° the initial phase of “evaluation-which-is-not-an-evaluation”, Reform of the reporting / promoting system, Contract and Temporary Staff, Preventive Medicine, and Some news from the court.

NEWS

WE DID IT !
We did it! Hundreds marched for locally recruited teachers’ rights! In solidarity with the Christian trade union ACV Puls/CSC CNE centrale, Union Syndicale together with teachers at the European Schools…
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