It's tricky. I think it makes sense that the national policy (set by member states government) is represented in their decisions in the council. Otherwise you

It's tricky. I think it makes sense that the national policy (set by member states government) is represented in their decisions in the council. Otherwise you could have the weird situation where the elected government and the elected council members work against each others because of mismatched voting cycles (or personalities). That sounds like a recipe for legslative lockup. In the end most fundamental EU "laws" need to be implemented into national law by the same government that is now sending its members to the council. A similar system is in use her in Germany, where the state government send a representative to the upper house.