CodecisionVotingEn

Voting Rules in The EU's Co-Decision Procedure

-> [ EU Democracy ]

A collection of documents and quotes that help explain by which rules decisions are taken on the software patent directive and other legislative projects under the co-decision procedure.

Everybody feel free to enhance this document ! Please note this text is started as a collection of quoted texts. It must be clear what is a quote and what is a comment:

I'd be glad if someone likes to do more kwiki formatting, i just can't do more at this time, sorry.

__________________________________________________________________________

Interactions of EP, EC and Council:

Codesision Rules, Voting Weights and Treatiy Sources.

__________________________________________________________________________

New: Since 26.11.2004 there's a Codecision Site on the Commission server

http://europa.eu.int/comm/codecision/stepbystep/index_en.htm

Flowcharts:

There's a flowchart of the codecision process at

http://europa.eu.int/comm/codecision/stepbystep/index_en.htm

and a scalable print poster at CodecisionPosterEn.

__________________________________________________________________________

Contents:

Part I: Codecision Rules

Part II: Majority Calculation

Part III: Seats in the EP and voting weights in the Council

Part IV: The Treaty of the European Community

( EP = Europarlament; Council = The Council of Ministers of the European Union )

Sources:

(1) EUR-LEX: Legislative Process (contains some rather simple flowcharts) http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/about/abc/abc_21.html

(2) The Council of the European Union's Codecision-Guide http://ue.eu.int/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?lang=en

XXX: Exchange quotes and remove this comment if they update for Nice 2004-11.

(3) The Treaty of Nice (in force since 2003-02-01) -> Consolidated in (4) http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/treaties/dat/nice_treaty_en.pdf

(4) TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (consolidated with Nice and Accession) http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/search/search_treaties.html

(5) The Treaty of Accession (signed in Athens 2003, into force 2004-05-01) http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/negotiations/treaty_of_accession_2003/index.htm This Treaty 'amendents' the Nice Treaty with then determined figures.

(6) SCADPLUS Glossary http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/cig/g4000c.htm#c4

(7) euireland: Enlargement and institutional changes http://www.euireland.ie/news/enlargement/0304/institutionalchanges.htm

(8) orgalime: Enlargement and the acceding states http://www.orgalime.org/positions/positions.htm?http%3A//www.orgalime.org/positions/enlargement.htm%23annex2

(9) The Europarl Conciliation page http://www.europarl.eu.int/code/information/what_is_en.htm

The Council-Guide:

(10-1) Vol. I: Presidency http://www.msa.lt/doc/council_guides_vol_1.pdf

(10-2) Vol. II: Rules of procedure http://www.msa.lt/doc/council_guides_vol_2.pdf

(10-3) Vol. III: Delegates http://www.msa.lt/doc/council_guides_vol_3.pdf

(10-4) Vol. IV: Codecision Guide (same as (2)) http://www.msa.lt/doc/council_guides_vol_4.pdf

() An good and reliable summary exists at http://patents.caliu.info/codecisio.en.html

() Usually up to date information can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org.

()

Part I: Codecision Rules

---> (1) EUR-LEX: Short summary.

First reading:

The starting point is a Commission proposal that is sent to the Council, Parliament and any committees to be consulted. Parliament takes its first reading and sends its opinion to the Council. The Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions are also given an opportunity to set out their position at this stage. If Parliament does not make any amendments to the Commission's proposal, or the Commission accepts all amendments proposed by Parliament, the instrument may be adopted at this stage. Otherwise, a second reading before Parliament is required.

On the basis of the Commission's proposal and Parliament's and the committees' opinions and its own deliberations, the Council adopts a common position by a qualified majority.

Second reading EP:

The common position is then sent to Parliament for its second reading. Parliament now has three months in which to do one of three things:

1. If it accepts the Council's common position or gives no response within three months, the instrument is deemed to have been adopted as set out in the common position.

2. If it rejects the common position outright (for which an absolute majority of MEP would be required), the legislative process is at an end. The Council no longer has the option of convening the Conciliation Committee.

3. If it makes amendments to the Council's common position, the following procedure is then used:

Second reading Council:

The Council first of all has the opportunity to adopt the common position as amended by Parliament, in which case all the proposed changes must be accepted. If, however, the Council rejects certain amendments or the majority needed for their adoption cannot be obtained (e.g. unanimity in the event that the Commission rejects Parliament's proposed amendments), then the President of the Council, acting in consultation with the President of the Parliament, must within six weeks convene a Conciliation Committee consisting of 15 representatives each from the Council and Parliament to consider the Council's common position in the light of Parliament's proposed amendments.

The aim is to achieve a workable compromise which can be adopted by the required majorities in the Council and Parliament. <--- (1)

---> (2) Codecision Guide: Second Council reading: The time limit for the second Council reading starts to run from the official receipt of the amendments resulting from the second European Parliament reading.

The Council may accept or reject these amendments (1):

(a) Amendments accepted (the Council acts by qualified majority or unanimously, depending on the subject matter, and always unanimously if the amendments were the subject of a negative opinion from the Commission) -- act deemed to have been adopted.

If the Council agrees to accept all the amendments, the act is deemed to have been adopted in the form of the common position thus amended. The legislative text (LEX PE-CONS document) is then submitted directly for the signature of the Presidents and Secretaries-General of the European Parliament and of the Council and published in the Official Journal.

(b) Not all amendments are accepted -- convening of the Conciliation Committee.

Before deciding whether or not to accept the European Parliament amendments, the Commission's opinion on them must have been referred to the Council. The Commission encloses a modified proposal with its opinion; the Council disputes this practice. <--- (2)

---> "I guess we have seen in practice that the commission does propose new amendments on the fly in Council sessions (see the transcript/recording of the 2004.5.18 competitiveness council). I guess the trick is to say: "The council can vote any amendments they want, but the commission would agree if they pass this and that, and if the Comission does not agree, the Council needs unanimity". (..) If CEC says what it will endorse some amendements (formally or not, with a draft put to vote, or with a comment in a corridor), council knows that it is very difficult to oppose.)" <---

Some details of the Council Procedures:

---> (10-2) In cases where adoption of an act is subject to a proposal from the Commission, at some stage in the procedure the Commission may be unable to agree to the amendments made to its proposal by the Council. This situation changes the Council's voting rules because, under Article 250(1) of the TEC, the Council must act unanimously if it wishes to adopt an act constituting an amendment to the Commission proposal. In practice, therefore, the Council votes only when the Commission has clearly adopted a position on any amendment of its proposal. <--- (10-2)

---> (10-3) Discussions may be of several types:

(...) The Presidency may, where it deems fit, particularly in the event of a long-standing stalemate, draw up a compromise on a specific aspect or on a whole text. It may happen that such a compromise is also presented as part of a package deal covering several texts (1) under discussion. Such ompromises may also be tabled in Coreper or in the working party. (...) After the discussion, the President draws the conclusions which may be reduced to three main cases: agreement, referral back or a vote:

It should be noted that voting on a legislative act may not take place, except on grounds of urgency, before the six-week time limit (between presentation of the proposal or draft act and voting) necessary for the examination of the text by national parliaments has expired (see above, entering items on the agenda'). The rules for voting in the Council are determined in Article 205 TEC and explained in Articles 11 and 12 CRP. The Comments on the Council's Rules of Procedure', Part II of this Council Guide, explains the voting rules in the light of various procedures.

The different kinds of vote are as follows:

-- Simple majority voting: although this is presented as the norm in Article 205 TEC, in fact it applies only in limited instances (1), in the absence of details as to any other voting arrangements to be used and for procedural decisions (Articles 23(3) and 34(4) TEU).

-- Qualified majority voting has become the most common voting rule in the Community field. For adoption by a qualified majority, each vote is weighted as follows: ### See Chapter III. <--- (10-3)

The Conciliation Committee

---> (9) Europarl Conciliation page:

Conciliation is the third and final phase of the most important of the legislative procedures of the European Union, the codecision procedure. The Conciliation procedure always applies if Council does not approve all the amendments of the European Parliament adopted at its second reading.

The Conciliation Committee is made up of 25 Members of the Council or their representatives and an equal number of representatives from Parliament who make up the EP delegation. Inside the European Parliament the 25 members of the EP delegation in the Conciliation Committee are appointed for each individual conciliation procedure by the political groups. The composition of the delegations reflects the overall political balance of the Parliament. Three Vice-Presidents are appointed as permanent members of the delegation. The chair of the competent committee and the rapporteur are also appointed ex officio. The Conciliation Committe has to be convened within 6 weeks (which may be extended by two weeks on the initiative of either institution) after the Council's second reading. The Committee has 6 (or 8) weeks to draw up a 'joint text' from the date of its first meeting. Again with a period of 6 (or 8) weeks, the joint text is submitted by the Presidents of the EP and Council delegations for approval by the Parliament and the Council, without any possibility of amendment. If, on the other hand, the Conciliation Committee does not reach an agreement or if the 'joint text' is not approved by the Parliament or the Council, the act is deemed not to have been adopted. The main provisions are to be found in Article 251 (3-7) of the EC Treaty. In addition to the Treaty articles, basic rules for the conciliation procedure can be found in the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, of May 1999, which lays down practical arrangements for the codecision procedure and in the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament (Rules 81-82-83). <--- (9)

---> (2) The Codecision Guide (outdated figures):

The Committee is chaired jointly by a Vice-President of the European Parliament and by a minister of the Member State holding the Presidency. The European Parliament delegation consists of 15 members and 15 substitutes (the latter without a right to vote except in the absence of a member of their political group). Three Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament are permanent members of the Conciliation Committee and take turns to co-chair it. The other 12 MEP in the delegation are appointed by political groups. The great majority belong to the parliamentary committee responsible for the matter. The Council delegation consists of the members of the Council or their representatives. As a general rule, it is made up of the representatives of the Member States within COREPER. In most cases, the European Parliament delegation tries to reach a consensus in its discussions. In the case of a vote, which may take place at any stage of the conciliation, including for questions of procedure, decisions are taken by a minimum of eight votes in favour.

The Commission, represented in principle by the Commissioner responsible for the matter, takes part in the Conciliation Committee's proceedings and takes all the necessary initiatives with a view to reconciling the positions of the European Parliament and the Council. Such initiatives may include, inter alia, draft compromise texts reflecting the positions of the Council and the European Parliament, with due regard to the role conferred upon the Commission by the Treaty. The Commission's position has no influence, however, on the majority rules for the adoption of the joint text by the Conciliation Committee: Qualified majority within the Council delegation (unanimity where the Treaty specifies an exception to the qualified majority rule) and simple majority within the European Parliament delegation. The Commission's right of initiative therefore plays no role in the conciliation phase (see Article 250 of the Treaty). Immediately before the meeting of the Conciliation Committee, the two co-Chairmen and the Commissioner meet in a formal trialogue for a general overview of the major issues involved in conciliation and the best way to broach them during the meeting. This trialogue is preceded, as a general rule, by a preparatory meeting of each delegation.

The Committee has available to it the Commission proposal, the Council's common position, the amendments proposed by the European Parliament, the Commission's opinion thereon (meeting file) and a joint working document of the European Parliament and Council delegations. This working document normally consists of two parts:

part A contains the elements of the compromise already agreed during the preparatory work,

part B, the unresolved points with the respective negotiating positions (synoptic table in four columns).

The Conciliation Committee meets alternately at the premises of the Council and those of the European Parliament. This alternation rule applies both from one dossier to the next and within each one, and there are many exceptions to this rule for logistic reasons (availability of meeting rooms and/or teams of interpreters). The rules governing the languages of these meetings are the same as for Council meetings (11 languages).

The institution hosting the first meeting of the Conciliation Committee is responsible for editing the joint text and the forwarding letter, and, after definitive adoption of the legislative act in question by the European Parliament and the Council, for the signing of the act by the Presidents of the European Parliament and of the Council and for its publication in the Official Journal. If the Committee fails to approve the joint text within the time limit set by the Treaty, the proposed act is deemed not to have been adopted.

If the Conciliation Committee approves a joint text, the European Parliament, acting by an absolute majority of the votes cast, and the Council, acting by a qualified majority (unanimity where the Treaty stipulates an exception to the qualified majority rule), each have a period of 6 (+ 2) weeks in which to adopt the act in question in accordance with the joint text. If either of the two institutions fails to approve the proposed act within that period, it is deemed not to have been adopted. The period of six weeks, which may be extended by two weeks, runs from the date of approval of the joint text, which does not necessarily correspond to the date of the last meeting of the Conciliation Committee, but to the date of the signature by the two co-Chairmen of the Conciliation Committee, of the letter forwarding the joint text, addressed to the Presidents of the European Parliament and of the Council. <--- (2)

Compare to:

---> (1) EUR-LEX:

If the Conciliation Committee accepts a joint draft of the legal instrument, the Council and Parliament must confirm its acceptance in a third reading within six weeks. Irrespective of the Commission's position regarding the draft compromise, a qualified majority in the Council is sufficient for its adoption (unless unanimity is required under the Treaties). Adoption by Parliament requires an absolute majority of the votes cast. The instrument is then deemed accepted by Parliament and the Council, which is also clearly indicated in its title (e.g. Parliament and Council regulation). If the conciliation procedure fails, the instrument is deemed not to have been accepted. The legislative process is then at an end. Failure of the procedure thus leads to the same result as rejection of the common position by the Council and Parliament at the third reading. <--- (1)

Part II: Majority Calculation

Generally, two different voting populations must be distinguished: A: The casted votes without abstentions (only yes or no) B: The total possible votes (available seats). It seems that abstentions aren't seen as actual votes in this language context.

For example, a simple majority is the choice whose number of votes is greater than half of the numbers of individuals who aren't indifferent between the two choices (modus A), in contrast to the absolute majority voting of the EP where all available seats do matter (modus B).

Parliament: Absolute Majority Voting (AM)

367 in favour, of 732 total.

Generally (total)/2 +1

Council: Qualified Majority Voting (QM)

72,27% = 232 in favour, of 321 total.

For a detailed table see Part III below.

---> (8) orgalime on Council Voting: From 1 November 2004 onwards the total number of votes will be 321. Adoption of proposals in the Council will require at least 232 votes, cast by a majority of the members (that is at least 3 large and one small state will be needed to block a proposal). In other cases, 232 votes will be require, cast by at least two-thirds of the Member States. <---

A Council QM must also include a QM of the Member States AND must represent at least 62% of the population of the European Union (which is to prove on request).

--> (6) SCADPLUS on Council Voting: With a view to enlargement, the last Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) implemented a revision of the scale of weightings to ensure that the relative weight of the "small" and "medium-sized" countries is not out of proportion to the size of their population. The number of votes of the most populous countries has thereby been increased further relative to the others, to enable the legitimacy of the Council's decisions to be maintained in terms of demographic representativeness. The new system of weighting will come into force on 1 November 2004. The IGC has also decided on the number of votes to be allocated to the new members after accession. As well as adjusting the number of votes, the Treaty of Nice has introduced the double majority system. In the approach to enlargement, the question of the weighting of votes in the Council is closely linked to that of the number and nationality of the Commissioners and the extension of qualified majority voting. The greater the scope of QUALIFIED MAJORITY voting, the more beneficial fair weighting of the votes in the Council will be for decision-making, as it will avoid the risk of veto. On the question of the number and nationality of Commissioners, the "larger" countries have accepted losing their second Commissioner in return for a stronger voice within the Council.

The new Intergovernmental Conference of February 2000 decided to adopt a system of reweighting of votes within the Council, combined with a double or even triple majority, as a requirement for adoption of an instrument within the Council. While the reweighting of votes works in favour of the large Member States, the qualified majority must also be a majority of the Member States. This is combined with a system known as the "demographic safety net" which means that each Member State can request verification of whether the qualified majority represents at least 62% of the population of the Union. If this condition is not fulfilled, the decision cannot be adopted. These new rules will enter into force on 1 November 2004. <--- (6)

The future: Double majority

If and when the new Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe comes into force, the rule for QM will be simplified. Under this new rule, any QM decision will require a 'double majority' of at least 55% of member states representing 65% of citizens.

Part III: Allocation of seats in the EP and voting weights in the Council

Parliament

---> orgalime (8): The European Parliament and the acceding States

During the short period from the date of accession (1 May 2004) until the elections 2004 the number of representatives will rise temporarily to 786. According to the Nice Treaty, the number of MEP will be reduced proportionally to 732 after the elections. According to the same treaty the number of MEP would remain at 732 after an eventual accession of Romania and Bulgaria during the next parliamentary term (2004-2009).

Note on Observers: Observers will have a national mandate without formal status. They will have the right to speak, but not the right to vote, nor to be elected to any positions of responsibility in Parliamentary committees and interparliamentary delegations. The observers are allowed to submit texts to these bodies in which they take part. When it comes to plenary sessions, the observers will have seats in the Parliamentary Chamber but they will not have the right to speak, vote or be elected to positions of responsibility. As far as regards the observers participation in the political groups, it is up to the groups to decide the arrangements for the observers. <--- (8)

---> (7) euireland: "Enlargement and institutional changes"

http://www.euireland.ie/news/enlargement/0304/institutionalchanges.htm

ANNEX II: The European Parliament

(0) MEMBER STATE

(1) SEATS EU-25 (01.05.2004-2009) (with Romania and Bulgaria accessing somewhere before 2009)

(2) SEATS EU-27 (after accession of Romania and Bulgaria, and after elections of 2009)

(3) EU-25 SEAT % UNDER NICE

(4) % of EU-25 POPULATION

(###: If EU-27 gets ready before elections 2009, then there would be a transition period between (1) and (2) with 786 seats.)

(0)

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Germany

99

99

13.52%

18.17%

UnitedKingdom

78

72

10.66%

13.18%

France

78

72

10.66%

13.06%

Italy

78

72

10.66%

12.75%

Spain

54

50

7.38%

8.89%

Poland

54

50

7.38%

8.53%

Romania

-

33

-

-

Netherlands

27

25

3.69%

3.54%

Greece

24

22

3.28%

2.33%

Portugal

24

22

3.28%

2.27%

Belgium

24

22

3.28%

2.27%

Czech Republic

24

20

3.28%

2.27%

Hungary

24

20

3.28%

2.25%

Sweden

19

18

2.60%

1.96%

Austria

18

17

2.46%

1.79%

Bulgaria

-

17

-

-

Slovakia

14

13

1.91%

1.19%

Denmark

14

13

1.91%

1.18%

Finland

14

13

1.91%

1.14%

Ireland

13

12

1.78%

0.85%

Lithuania

13

12

1.78%

0.77%

Latvia

9

8

1.23%

0.52%

Slovenia

7

7

0.96%

0.44%

Estonia

6

6

0.82%

0.30%

Cyprus

6

6

0.82%

0.17%

Luxembourg

6

6

0.82%

0.10%

Malta

5

5

0.68%

0.09%

TOTAL

732

732

100%

100%

<---

Council

---> orgalime (8): The Council and the acceding States

The number of votes will increase and the division among the Member States will change in two steps.

(1) During the transitional period (1 May 2004 to 31 October 2004), the total number of votes in the Council will be 124. For adoption of proposals from the Commission, acts of the Council will require at least 88 votes in favour (therefore at least 3 large and one medium size state will be needed to block a proposal). For adoption by the Council in other cases, 88 votes are required, cast by at least two-thirds of the Member States.

(2) From 1 November 2004 onwards the total number of votes will be 321. Adoption of proposals in the Council will require at least 232 votes, cast by a majority of the members (that is at least 3 large and one small state will be needed to block a proposal). In other cases, 232 votes will be require, cast by at least two-thirds of the Member States. <--- (8)

---> (7) euireland: Enlargement and institutional changes

http://www.euireland.ie/news/enlargement/0304/institutionalchanges.htm

ANNEX I: The Council of the European Union

(0) MEMBER STATES

(1) VOTE WEIGHTING EU-25 01.05.04 to 31.10.04 (new member transition period)

(2) VOTE WEIGHTING EU-25 from 1.11.04

(3) VOTE WEIGHTING EU-27 (after accession of Romania and Bulgaria)

| (0) | (1) | (2) | (3) | | | | | | | Germany | 10 | 29 | 29 | | UnitedKingdom | 10 | 29 | 29 | | France | 10 | 29 | 29 | | Italy | 10 | 29 | 29 | | Spain | 8 | 27 | 27 | | Poland | 8 | 27 | 27 | | Romania | - | - | 14 | | Netherlands | 5 | 13 | 13 | | Greece | 5 | 12 | 12 | | Czech Republic | 5 | 12 | 12 | | Belgium | 5 | 12 | 12 | | Hungary | 5 | 12 | 12 | | Portugal | 5 | 12 | 12 | | Sweden | 4 | 10 | 10 | | Bulgaria | - | - | 10 | | Austria | 4 | 10 | 10 | | Slovakia | 3 | 7 | 7 | | Denmark | 3 | 7 | 7 | | Finland | 3 | 7 | 7 | | Ireland | 3 | 7 | 7 | | Lithuania | 3 | 7 | 7 | | Latvia | 3 | 4 | 4 | | Slovenia | 3 | 4 | 4 | | Estonia | 3 | 4 | 4 | | Cyprus | 2 | 4 | 4 | | Luxembourg | 2 | 4 | 4 | | Malta | 2 | 3 | 3 | | TOTAL | 124 | 321 | 345 |

QUALIFIED MAJORITY:

| votes | 88 | 232 | 255 | | % | 70.97 | 72.27 | 73.91 |

BLOCKING MINORITY:

| | 37 | 90 | 91 |

<--- (7)

Part IV: The European Community Treaty

---> (4) Excerpts from

THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY --- CONSOLIDATED VERSION ---

XXX: At the time this quotations were copied, the "Teaty Establishing The European Union" does not yet represent the 10 new Accession states. Articles amended by The Treaty of Nice or The Protocol on the enlargement of the European Union are marked (**). In the Original exist footnotes with more detailed explanations.

TITLE V -- PROVISIONS ON A COMMON FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY

  1. The Council shall adopt joint actions. Joint actions shall address specific situations where
    • operational action by the Union is deemed to be required. They shall lay down their objectives, scope, the means to be made available to the Union, if necessary their duration, and the conditions for their implementation.
  2. If there is a change in circumstances having a substantial effect on a question subject to joint
    • action, the Council shall review the principles and objectives of that action and take the necessary decisions. As long as the Council has not acted, the joint action shall stand.
  3. Joint actions shall commit the Member States in the positions they adopt and in the conduct of
    • their activity.
  4. The Council may request the Commission to submit to it any appropriate proposals relating to the
    • common foreign and security policy to ensure the implementation of a joint action.
  5. Whenever there is any plan to adopt a national position or take national action pursuant to a
    • joint action, information shall be provided in time to allow, if necessary, for prior consultations within the Council. The obligation to provide prior information shall not apply to measures which are merely a national transposition of Council decisions.
  6. In cases of imperative need arising from changes in the situation and failing a Council
    • decision, Member States may take the necessary measures as a matter of urgency having regard to the general objectives of the joint action. The Member State concerned shall inform the Council immediately of any such measures.
  7. Should there be any major difficulties in implementing a joint action, a Member State shall
    • refer them to the Council which shall discuss them and seek appropriate solutions. Such solutions shall not run counter to the objectives of the joint action or impair its effectiveness.
    ###: ====== Referrer to Article 251 matching harmonizing national laws or intellectual property:

TITLE VI -- COMMON RULES ON COMPETITION, TAXATION AND APPROXIMATION OF LAWS

10. The harmonisation measures referred to above shall, in appropriate cases, include a safeguard

TITLE IX: COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY

  1. In exercising the powers conferred upon it by this Article, the Council shall act by a
    • qualified majority.
  2. Paragraphs 1 to 4 shall also apply to the negotiation and conclusion of agreements in the fields
    • of trade in services and the (###:) commercial aspects of intellectual property, in so far as those agreements are not covered by the said paragraphs and without prejudice to paragraph 6. By way of derogation from paragraph 4, the Council shall act unanimously when negotiating and concluding an agreement in one of the fields referred to in the first subparagraph, where that agreement includes provisions for which unanimity is required for the adoption of internal rules or where it relates to a field in which the Community has not yet exercised the powers conferred upon it by this Treaty by adopting internal rules. The Council shall act unanimously with respect to the negotiation and conclusion of a horizontal agreement insofar as it also concerns the preceding subparagraph or the second subparagraph of paragraph 6. This paragraph shall not affect the right of the Member States to maintain and conclude agreements with third countries or international organisations in so far as such agreements comply with Community law and other relevant international agreements.
  3. An agreement may not be concluded by the Council if it includes provisions which would go
    • beyond the Community's internal powers, in particular by leading to harmonisation of the laws or regulations of the Member States in an area for which this Treaty rules out such harmonisation. (...)
  4. Without prejudice to the first subparagraph of paragraph 6, the Council, acting unanimously on a
    • proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament, may extend the application of paragraphs 1 to 4 to international negotiations and agreements on intellectual property in so far as they are not covered by paragraph 5.

TITLE XVI: INDUSTRY

  1. The Community and the Member States shall ensure that the conditions necessary for the
    • competitiveness of the Community's industry exist. For that purpose, in accordance with a system of open and competitive markets, their action shall be aimed at: - speeding up the adjustment of industry to structural changes, - encouraging an environment favourable to initiative and to the development of undertakings
      • throughout the Community, particularly small and medium-sized undertakings,
      - encouraging an environment favourable to cooperation between undertakings, - fostering better exploitation of the industrial potential of policies of innovation, research
      • and technological development.
  2. The Member States shall consult each other in liaison with the Commission and, where necessary,
    • shall coordinate their action. The Commission may take any useful initiative to promote such coordination.
  3. The Community shall contribute to the achievement of the objectives set out in paragraph 1
    • through the policies and activities it pursues under other provisions of this Treaty. The Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 and after consulting the Economic and Social Committee, may decide on specific measures in support of action taken in the Member States to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 1.

(### sounds interesting:)

PART FIVE -- Institutions of the Community, TITLE I: Provisions governing the institutions

PART SIX -- General and final provisions ... 146

PART FIVE, CHAPTER 1: THE INSTITUTIONS

Section 1 -- The European Parliament

| Belgium | 25 | | Denmark | 16 | | Germany | 99 | | Greece | 25 | | Spain | 64 | | France | 87 | | Ireland | 15 | | Italy | 87 | | Luxembourg | 6 | | Netherlands | 31 | | Austria | 21 | | Portugal | 25 | | Finland | 16 | | Sweden | 22 | | United Kingdom | 87 | | TOTAL: | 626 |

Section 2 -- The Council

  1. Save as otherwise provided in this Treaty, the Council shall act by a majority of its Members.
  2. Where the Council is required to act by a qualified majority, the votes of its Members shall be
    • weighted as follows:

| Belgium | 5 | | Denmark | 3 | | Germany | 10 | | Greece | 5 | | Spain | 8 | | France | 10 | | Ireland | 3 | | Italy | 10 | | Luxembourg | 2 | | Netherlands | 5 | | Austria | 4 | | Portugal | 5 | | Finland | 3 | | Sweden | 4 | | United Kingdom | 10 |

Section 3 -- The Commission

  1. (**) The Commission shall consist of 20 Members, who shall be chosen on the grounds of their general competence and whose independence is beyond doubt. (...)
  2. The Members of the Commission shall, in the general interest of the Community, be completely independent in the performance of their duties. In the performance of these duties, they shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or from any other body. They shall refrain from any action incompatible with their duties. Each Member State undertakes to respect this principle and not to seek to influence the Members of the Commission in the performance of their tasks. The Members of the Commission may not, during their term of office, engage in any other occupation, whether gainful or not. When entering upon their duties they shall give a solemn undertaking that, both during and after their term of office, they will respect the obligations arising therefrom and in particular their duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits. In the event of any breach of these obligations, the Court of Justice may, on application by the Council or the Commission, rule that the Member concerned be, according to the circumstances, either compulsorily retired in accordance with Article 216 or deprived of his right to a pension or other benefits in its stead.
    • Article 217 (**)
  3. The Commission shall work under the political guidance of its President, who shall decide on its internal organisation in order to ensure that it acts consistently, efficiently and on the basis of collegiality.
  4. The responsibilities incumbent upon the Commission shall be structured and allocated among its Members by its President. The President may reshuffle the allocation of those responsibilities during the Commission's term of office. The Members of the Commission shall carry out the duties devolved upon them by the President under his authority.
    • Article 219 (**)
    The Commission shall act by a majority of the number of Members provided for in Article 213. A meeting of the Commission shall be valid only if the number of Members laid down in its Rules of Procedure is present. ### ========== Codecision procedure

PART FIVE, CHAPTER 2: PROVISIONS COMMON TO SEVERAL INSTITUTIONS

  1. Where reference is made in this Treaty to this Article for the adoption of an act,
    • the following procedure shall apply:
  2. The Commission shall submit a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council.

  1. If, within three months of the matter being referred to it, the Council, acting by a qualified
    • majority, approves all the amendments of the European Parliament, the act in question shall be deemed to have been adopted in the form of the common position thus amended; however, the Council shall act unanimously on the amendments on which the Commission has delivered a negative opinion. If the Council does not approve all the amendments, the President of the Council, in agreement with the President of the European Parliament, shall within six weeks convene a meeting of the Conciliation Committee.

  1. The Conciliation Committee, which shall be composed of the Members of the Council or their
    • representatives and an equal number of representatives of the European Parliament, shall have the task of reaching agreement on a joint text, by a qualified majority of the Members of the Council or their representatives and by a majority of the representatives of the European Parliament. The Commission shall take part in the Conciliation Committee's proceedings and shall take all the necessary initiatives with a view to reconciling the positions of the European Parliament and the Council. In fulfilling this task, the Conciliation Committee shall address the common position on the basis of the amendments proposed by the European Parliament.
  2. If, within six weeks of its being convened, the Conciliation Committee approves a joint text,
    • the European Parliament, acting by an absolute majority of the votes cast, and the Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall each have a period of six weeks from that approval in which to adopt the act in question in accordance with the joint text. If either of the two institutions fails to approve the proposed act within that period, it shall be deemed not to have been adopted.
  3. Where the Conciliation Committee does not approve a joint text, the proposed act shall be
    • deemed not to have been adopted.
  4. The periods of three months and six weeks referred to in this Article shall be extended by a
    • maximum of one month and two weeks respectively at the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council.
      • Article 252

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PART SIX: GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

<--- (4)

Related links:

http://www.euireland.ie/news/enlargement/0304/institutionalchanges.htm

http://europa.eu.int/comm/nice_treaty/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/negotiations/treaty_of_accession_2003/index.htm

http://europa.eu.int/abc/doc/off/bull/en/200210/i1014.htm

http://patents.caliu.info/codecisio.en.html

There's a flowchart poster of the codecision process at CodecisionPosterEn.

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