LISBON EXPLAINED:Lisbon requires 55 per cent of states and 65 per cent of population to pass a decision, writes JAMIE SMYTH
IF THE Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all member states, it would introduce a new voting system for the EU’s main legislative and co-ordinating body, the Council of Ministers.
Under the current rules outlined in the Nice Treaty, decisions at the council are generally taken by qualified majority voting (QMV) under a system weighted to loosely reflect member states’ relative sizes.
Currently, 255 votes are required out of 345 votes to pass a law. The Republic, with a population of just over four million, gets seven votes, while Germany with a population of 82 million, gets 29 votes.
Lisbon introduces a new “double majority” voting system that rebalances voting weights to bring them closer to population size. Under this system, to pass a decision by qualified majority will normally require the double hurdle of at least 55 per cent of member states while representing at least 65 per cent of the population of the EU.
One of the key attractions of the double majority system is that by better reflecting the population of Europe, it is designed to be more democratic.
It should also give the public a better understanding of what is going on.
No campaigners, such as lecturer Anthony Coughlan, criticise the system because it reduces the Republic’s relative voting weight.
Indeed, European Commission figures put Ireland’s voting weight at 0.85 per cent under the new arrangement, compared to Germany’s 16.75 per cent.
However, smaller states are protected by the requirement that 55 per cent of states (eg, 17 out of 27) must back a proposal for it to pass. Four member states can block a proposal.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, Ireland and every other member state will retain a veto over any new proposals/decisions in the fields of defence, foreign affairs, taxation and civil and family law.
Ireland also has the ability to opt out of new legislation in the sensitive area of justice and home affairs under the Lisbon Treaty. This means that the Government can choose not to take part in legislation covering police and judicial co-operation.
It should also be noted that EU states generally try to make decisions through consensus rather than force QMV votes that could isolate a particular member state.
In 2006, there were 153 pieces of legislation passed by the Council of Ministers, but a disagreement registered through QMV voting only occurred on 34 occasions, according to a report by the Centre for European policy Studies. However, the report Old Rules, New Game said that EU enlargement was leading to an increase in the use of qualified majority voting.
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