How to be a Civil Servant
This note contains brief details of the latest position on each of these matters.
Current and future Presidencies of the Council of Ministers are as follows:-
Until 31 October 2014 a qualified majority is reached if 255 (out of 345) votes are cast in favour AND a majority of member states approve.
If member states are not voting on a Commission proposal then the requirement of a majority in the above paragraph is replaced by two-thirds of the Council.
In addition, a Member State may ask for confirmation that the votes in favour represent at least 62% of the total population of the Union. If this is found not to be the case, the decision will not be adopted.
When counting votes, the 27 member states will have the following votes:
Heads of State meeting in Brussels in June 2007 confirmed that they wish to press on and implement the provisions of a draft treaty signed by their predecessors at an inter-governmental conference (IGC) in Paris in October 2004. Their decision needs to be turned into a treaty at a further IGC in late 2007, and that treaty then needs to be ratified by all member states. Assuming that happens then, from 1 November 2014, a qualified majority will be 55% of member states comprising at least 65% of the population of the EU.
If member states are not voting on a Commission proposal then the figure of 55% in the previous paragraph is replaced by 72% of the Council. The 65% figure stays the same.
An abstention will therefore have the effect of a vote against the proposal, except that at least 4 members must vote against a proposal or else the vote will be carried, however members abstain.
There will be a transitional provision (to please the Poles) which will allow any member state to require the old (pre-November 2014) QMV provsions to apply. This transitional provision runs out on 31 March 2017.
The following 13 member states are in the EMU and have adopted the single currency (the Euro):-
The following 14 member states are not in the EMU and retain their own currencies:-
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28 countries (the EU 27 less Ireland and the UK, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) have signed the Schengen agreement. All these countries (except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Switzerland) are expected to have implemented the agreement and removed all border controls with each other by mid 2008. (Land borders were opened in December 2007 but airport checks remain for a few more months.) |
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