The
G6 (Group of Six) in the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
is an unofficial group of the interior ministers of the six European Union member states —
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
, and
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
— with the largest populations, and hence with the lion's share of
votesThe procedures for Voting in the Council of the European Union are described in the treaties of the EU. The Council of the European Union was instituted under this name in the Maastricht Treaty...
in the
Council of the European UnionThe Council of the European Union is the principal decision-making institution of the European Union . It is often informally called the Council of Ministers or just the Council, the name used in the treaties; it is also called Consilium as a Latin-language compromise...
. The G6 was established in 2003 as G5 to deal with
immigrationImmigration is the arrival of new individuals into a habitat or population. It is a biological concept and is important in population ecology, differentiated from emigration and migration.-As a political term:...
,
terrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.At present, there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism...
and law and order. In 2006, Poland joined the group, making it the G6.
Under the
third pillar of the EUThe Treaty of Maastricht, which established the European Union, divided EU policies into three main areas called pillars.- The three pillars :# The first or 'Community' pillar concerns economic, social and environmental policies....
,
Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal MattersPolice and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters , formerly Justice and Home Affairs , is the third of the three pillars of the European Union, focusing on co-operation in law enforcement and combating racism. It is based more around intergovernmental cooperation than the other pillars meaning...
, powers are largely
intergovernmentalIntergovernmental can refer to:*Intergovernmentalism*Intergovernmental Risk Pool*Intergovernmental organization...
; this is the one EU policy area where there is no
CommissionThe European Commission acts as an executive of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.The Commission operates in the method of cabinet government, with 27...
monopoly on proposing law.
Discussion
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The
G6 (Group of Six) in the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
is an unofficial group of the interior ministers of the six European Union member states —
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
, and
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
— with the largest populations, and hence with the lion's share of
votesThe procedures for Voting in the Council of the European Union are described in the treaties of the EU. The Council of the European Union was instituted under this name in the Maastricht Treaty...
in the
Council of the European UnionThe Council of the European Union is the principal decision-making institution of the European Union . It is often informally called the Council of Ministers or just the Council, the name used in the treaties; it is also called Consilium as a Latin-language compromise...
. The G6 was established in 2003 as G5 to deal with
immigrationImmigration is the arrival of new individuals into a habitat or population. It is a biological concept and is important in population ecology, differentiated from emigration and migration.-As a political term:...
,
terrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.At present, there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism...
and law and order. In 2006, Poland joined the group, making it the G6.
| G6 |
| state |
population |
votes in the Council The procedures for Voting in the Council of the European Union are described in the treaties of the EU. The Council of the European Union was instituted under this name in the Maastricht Treaty...
|
notes |
Germany GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
|
82,314,906 |
29 |
8.4% |
|
France FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
|
63,392,140 |
29 |
8.4% |
|
United Kingdom United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
|
60,587,300 |
29 |
8.4% |
|
Italy ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
|
60,045,068 |
29 |
8.4% |
|
Spain SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. [The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
|
45,116,894 |
27 |
7.8% |
|
Poland PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
|
39,116,000 |
27 |
7.8% |
joined in 2006 |
| total |
348,658,527 |
170 |
49.2% |
|
Under the
third pillar of the EUThe Treaty of Maastricht, which established the European Union, divided EU policies into three main areas called pillars.- The three pillars :# The first or 'Community' pillar concerns economic, social and environmental policies....
,
Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal MattersPolice and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters , formerly Justice and Home Affairs , is the third of the three pillars of the European Union, focusing on co-operation in law enforcement and combating racism. It is based more around intergovernmental cooperation than the other pillars meaning...
, powers are largely
intergovernmentalIntergovernmental can refer to:*Intergovernmentalism*Intergovernmental Risk Pool*Intergovernmental organization...
; this is the one EU policy area where there is no
CommissionThe European Commission acts as an executive of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.The Commission operates in the method of cabinet government, with 27...
monopoly on proposing law. In other policy areas, the Commission can usually create balance among the states, but in this one, the G6 has a great deal of influence over the Commission.
Nicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra...
has called on the G6 to lead the Union following the dilution of the
Franco-German motorThe relations between France and Germany is embodied in a cooperation called Franco-German Friendship . This came about after 1945, when a French-German enmity between the two countries ended....
after the
2004 enlargement of the European UnionThe 2004 enlargement of the European Union was the largest single expansion of the European Union , both in terms of territory and population, yet was the smallest in terms of gross domestic product ....
. The lack of transparency and accountability of the G6 has been criticised by a number of figures, notably by a report by the UK's
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
.
See also
- List of European Union member states by population
- Democratic deficit in the European Union
The democratic deficit in the European Union refers to a perceived lack of democracy in the European Union, due to a lack of legitimacy of institutions of the European Union and a lack of influence of its citizens. Opinions differ on how to remedy the perceived deficit, and it is also argued that...
- Intergovernmentalism
The term Intergovernmentalism can mean different things:-A decision-making method:It is usually said that intergovernmentalism refers to the decision-making methods in international organisations, where power is possessed by the member states and decisions are often but not always made by unanimity...
- Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters
Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters , formerly Justice and Home Affairs , is the third of the three pillars of the European Union, focusing on co-operation in law enforcement and combating racism. It is based more around intergovernmental cooperation than the other pillars meaning...
- European Commission
The European Commission acts as an executive of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.The Commission operates in the method of cabinet government, with 27...
- Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the principal decision-making institution of the European Union . It is often informally called the Council of Ministers or just the Council, the name used in the treaties; it is also called Consilium as a Latin-language compromise...
- Voting in the Council of the European Union
The procedures for Voting in the Council of the European Union are described in the treaties of the EU. The Council of the European Union was instituted under this name in the Maastricht Treaty...