Codecision Procedure

The Maastricht Treaty gave the European Parliament the power of "codecision" with the Council in a limited number of areas such as research, health, and culture. It left the Council with the last say on a significant number of other policies but still substantially increased the Parliament's power. Before Maastricht, the Parliament could amend the Council's draft legislation (the so-called cooperation procedure), offer its opinion through the "consultation" procedure, or withhold its "assent" to Council decisions in certain areas (residence rights, the structural and cohesion funds, treaties of accession, and others).

The Amsterdam Treaty increased Parliament's responsibilities by making the codecision procedure the general rule, furthered by the Treaty of Nice. If the Council and Parliament cannot agree, a special Conciliation Committee is formed. Even if the Committee agrees to a joint text, Parliament may still reject the proposed act by an absolute majority of its members.

The "cooperation" procedure will survive only within the confines of Economic and Monetary Union. The "assent" procedure will be required in cases such as applications for membership of the Union and certain major international agreements.

The Council of the European Union enacts ED laws, acting on proposals submitted by the Commission. Since the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty, its official name is the Council of the European Union.

Comprising ministers from each member state, the Council strikes a balance between national and Union interests. Different ministers participate in the Council according to the subject under discussion. Agricultural ministers, for instance, discuss farm prices in the Agriculture Council, and economic and finance ministers discuss monetary affairs in the ECOFIN Council. The ministers for foreign affairs provide overall coordination in the General Affairs Council. They are also responsible for foreign policy in the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Each government acts as president of the Council for six months in rotation. The Council is assisted by a Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), comprising member state officials holding ambassadorial rank, and a secretariat with a staff of about 2,000.

The Council makes most decisions by qualified majority vote (QMV), with the Treaty of Nice extending QMV to twenty-nine new policy areas. Five member states and twenty-six votes are currently necessary for a blocking minority. These numbers will be changed by the Treaty of Nice (see chart). After Nice, QMV will require support by a majority of member states, representing at least 62 percent of the EU population, while the voting threshold for QMV will also rise from 71.3 percent for fifteen members eventually to become 73.9 percent in an EU of twenty-seven members. Unanimity is still required for areas like amendments to the treaties, taxation, the launch of a new common policy, or the admission of a new member state.

In the area of CFSP, the Amsterdam Treaty provided that as many as one-third of member states may "constructively abstain" from a decision while allowing the others to act together on behalf of the EU. Member states that "constructively abstain" may not take any action that impedes the decision made by the majority. Amsterdam also provided for qualified majority voting in implementing basic political decisions.

The Treaty of Nice has made the procedure of "enhanced cooperation" among member states even more flexible. A minimum of eight member states may choose to cooperate in certain areas, provided that participation is open to all and they do not infringe upon the rights of other member states.

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