Observers

Accession Treaty (Photo: European Commission)
An observer is a person who can participate in a meeting but has no voting rights.

The applicant countries are currently allowed to send observers to all Council meetings and working groups. They can speak at these meetings, but not vote.

Applicant countries can ask for a formal consultation if an EU proposal may affect them. Consultations will then be held in a special Interim Committee composed of representatives from the existing Member States, the candidate countries and the EU Commission.

Notes

If an applicant country votes “No” to its Accession Treaty in a referendum the observers from that country will withdraw.