Editing Council of the European Union (section)

=== Legislative procedure ===
{{Main|European Union legislative procedure}}
[[File:Ordinary legislative procedure majorityrules.svg|thumb|300px|Simplified illustration of the voting rules that apply within the ordinary legislative procedure. The actual procedure involves various stages of consultations aimed at achieving compromise between the positions of the two legislative chambers.]]
The EU's legislative authority is divided between the council, the Parliament and the commission. As the relationships and powers of these institutions have developed, various legislative procedures have been created for adopting laws.<ref name="Legislative power"/> In early times, the ''avis facultatif'' maxim was: "The Commission proposes, and the Council disposes";<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/highlights/en/103.html |title=News - Archives - Highlights - Codecision and other procedures |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |access-date=17 December 2014 |archive-date=28 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628100536/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/highlights/en/103.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but now the vast majority of laws are subject to the [[ordinary legislative procedure]], which works on the principle that consent from both the Council and Parliament are required before a law may be adopted.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Europa (web portal)]] |title=The Codecision Procedure |url=http://ec.europa.eu/codecision/procedure/index_en.htm |access-date=11 July 2007 |archive-date=7 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107111216/https://ec.europa.eu/codecision/procedure/index_en.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Under this procedure, the Commission presents a proposal to Parliament and the council. Following its first [[Reading (legislature)|reading]] the Parliament may propose amendments. If the Council accepts these amendments then the legislation is approved. If it does not then it adopts a "common position" and submits that new version to the Parliament. At its second reading, if the Parliament approves the text or does not act, the text is adopted, otherwise the Parliament may propose further amendments to the council's proposal. It may be rejected out right by an [[Majority|absolute majority]] of MEPs. If the Council still does not approve the Parliament's position, then the text is taken to a "[[Trilogue meeting|Conciliation Committee]]" composed of the Council members plus an equal number of MEPs. If a Committee manages to adopt a joint text, it then has to be approved in a third reading by both the Council and Parliament or the proposal is abandoned.<ref name="Parliament's powers">{{cite web |title=Codecision procedure |publisher=[[Europa (web portal)|European Parliament]] |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=46&pageRank=4&language=EN |access-date=12 June 2007 |archive-date=16 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216163932/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=46&pageRank=4&language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

The few other areas that operate the ''special legislative procedures'' are justice & home affairs, budget and taxation and certain aspects of other policy areas: such as the fiscal aspects of environmental policy. In these areas, the council or Parliament decide law alone.<ref name="lisbon explain"/><ref name="decision making">{{cite web |title=Decision-making in the European Union |publisher=[[Europa (web portal)]] |url=http://www.europa.eu/institutions/decision-making/index_en.htm |access-date=18 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011040316/http://europa.eu/institutions/decision-making/index_en.htm |archive-date=11 October 2007 }}</ref> The procedure used also depends upon which type of [[European Union law#Legislation|institutional act]] is being used. The strongest act is a [[Regulation (European Union)|regulation]], an [[Act of Parliament|act]] or [[Statutory law|law]] which is directly applicable in its entirety. Then there are [[Directive (European Union)|directives]] which bind members to certain goals which they must achieve, but they do this through their own laws and hence have room to manoeuvre in deciding upon them. A [[European Union decision|decision]] is an instrument which is focused at a particular person or group and is directly applicable. Institutions may also issue [[European Union recommendation|recommendations and opinions]] which are merely non-binding declarations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Community legal instruments |publisher=[[Europa (web portal)]] |url=http://europa.eu/scadplus/glossary/community_legal_instruments_en.htm |access-date=18 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708114002/http://europa.eu/scadplus/glossary/community_legal_instruments_en.htm |archive-date=8 July 2007 }}</ref>

The Council votes in one of three ways; [[unanimity]], [[Majority|simple majority]], or [[qualified majority]]. In most cases, the Council votes on issues by [[Voting in the Council of the European Union|qualified majority voting]], meaning that there must be a minimum of 55% of member states agreeing (at least 15) who together represent at least 65% of the EU population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Voting system |publisher=[[Europa (web portal)]] |url=http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/voting-system/ |access-date=27 July 2017 }}</ref> A 'blocking minority' can only be formed by at least 4 member states, even if the objecting states constitute more than 35% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Qualified Majority |publisher=[[Europa (web portal)]] |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/voting-system/qualified-majority/ |access-date=26 September 2024 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319073922/https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/voting-system/qualified-majority/ |url-status=live }}</ref>