Council Decision-Making Procedures in Europe
Under the EU Treaties, majority voting is applied in the Council – as a general rule, a qualified majority is sufficient (Article 16(3) TEU). A simple majority, where each Council member has one vote, is applied only in individual cases and in less sensitive areas. (A simple majority is therefore currently achieved with 14 votes).
Context of Council Decision-Making Procedures in the European Union
The methods for calculating the qualified majority will change in various stages.
More about Council Decision-Making Procedures in the European Union
Up until 1 November 2014, the weighted voting system introduced by the Treaty of Nice and giving large Member States more influence will be used. Under this system, a qualified majority is achieved when there is a majority of Member States with at least 255 votes out of 345, although one Member State can also demand that these Member States represent at least 62 % of the EU population.
Other Aspects
Since 1 January 2007 the number of votes each Member State can cast has been as follows.
Details
On 1 November 2014 the new double majority system comes into force, under which a qualified majority is achieved when at least 55 % of the Member States representing 65 % of the EU population vote for a legislative proposal. To prevent less populous Member States from blocking the adoption of a decision, a blocking minority must consist of at least four Member States, and, if this number is not achieved, a qualified majority is deemed achieved even if the population criterion is not met. The system is complemented by a mechanism very similar to the ‘Ioannina compromise’: if a blocking minority is not achieved, the decision-making process can be suspended. In this case, the Council does not proceed with the vote, but continues negotiations for a reasonable period of time, if requested by Members of the Council representing at least 75 % of the population or at least 75 % of the number of Member States required for a blocking minority.
Last Remarks
From 1 April 2017 the same mechanism will apply, but the percentages for the establishment of a blocking minority will change to at least 55 % of the population or at least 55 % of the number of Member States. The Council can amend this system de jure by a simple majority. However, one of the proto cols stipulates that negotiations must first be held in the European Council, and that any decision made in that regard must be unanimous.
The importance of majority voting lies not so much in the fact that it prevents small States from blocking important decisions, as that it makes it possible to outvote individual large Member States. However, the ‘Luxembourg Agreement’ remains a major political factor, at least as far as voting practice is concerned. It grants the right to veto a Community measure in cases where a Member State considers that its vital national interests are at stake, and was used to solve a crisis which arose in 1965 when France, afraid that its national interests in the financing of the common agricultural policy were threatened, blocked decision-making in the Council for over six months by a ‘policy of the empty chair’.
In the case of decisions to be taken in especially sensitive political areas, the Treaties require unanimity. The adoption of a decision cannot be blocked by means of abstentions, however. Unanimity is still required for decisions on such matters as taxes, the rights and obligations of employees, amendments to citizenship provisions and determining whether a Member State has infringed constitutional principles, and for laying down principles and guidelines in the areas of common foreign and security policy or police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.
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