The codecision procedure is the main legislative procedure by which law can be adopted in the European Community, the first of the three pillars of the European Union. The codecision procedure gives the European Parliament the power to adopt legislation jointly with the Council of the European Union, requiring the two bodies to agree on an identical text before any proposal can become law. Elections in the European Union gives information on election and election results in the European Union. ... Elections to the European Parliament were held from June 10, 2004 to June 13, 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. ... In early 2007, Bulgaria and Romania will elect their members of the European Parliament for the first time. ... Elections to the European Parliament will be held in June 2006 in the then–27 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. ... In five European Union Member States (Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom), the national territory is divided into a number of constituencies for European elections. ... The European political party, or formally political party at European level, is a type of political party organization in the European Union, eligible to receive funding from the Union. ... Political Groups in the European Parliament combine the MEPs from European political parties, informal European political blocs, and independents, into powerful coalitions. ... // Origins of the EU History of the European Union European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Euratom Single market. ... Austria Poland Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech   Rep. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Foreign relations of the European Union Foreign relations of Austria Foreign relations of Belgium Foreign relations of Cyprus Foreign relations of the Czech Republic Foreign relations of Denmark Foreign relations of Estonia Foreign relations of Finland Foreign relations of France Foreign relations of Germany Foreign relations of Greece Foreign relations... European Union law is the unique legal system which operates alongside the laws of Member States of the European Union (EU). ... In economics, a monetary union is a situation where several countries have agreed to share a single currency among them. ... This article or section should be merged with List of European Union-related topics The European Union has several institutions: The European Parliament The European Council The Council of the European Union (or Council of Ministers) The European Commission The European Court of Justice (incorporating the Court of First Instance... The agencies of the European Union (or decentralised bodies of the European Union) are bodies which are distinct from the European Unions institutions, in that they have not been created by the treaties but rather by acts of secondary legislation, in order to accomplish a very specific task. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... The European Union legislative procedure describes the way the European Union creates and enacts legislation across the community. ... The European Community (EC) was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... The Treaty of Maastricht which established the European Union, divided EU policies into three main areas, called pillars. ... Established 1952, as the Common Assembly President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 Vice-Presidents 14 Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou Alejo Vidal-Quadras Gérard Onesta Edward McMillan-Scott Mario Mauro Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez Luigi Cocilovo Mechtild Rothe Luisa Morgantini Pierre Moscovici Manuel António... The Justus Lipsius building, the headquarter of the EU Council in Brussels The Council of the European Union (German: Rat der Europäischen Union, French: Le Conseil de lUnion européenne), is a governing body that forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union...

Other legislative procedures

The main differences with the other European Union legislative procedures: The European Union legislative procedure describes the way the European Union creates and enacts legislation across the community. ...

• the cooperation procedure, that gave the European Parliament greater influence in the legislative process. The Council can overrule a rejection of the particular proposed law by the Parliament by adopting a proposal unanimously
• the consultation procedure, where the Council is not bound by Parliament's position or by any other consulted body, but only by the obligation to consult the Parliament.
• and the assent procedure: this procedure is similar to the consultation procedure, except under the assent procedure, Parliament may only accept or reject a proposal. It cannot amend one. Unless it has too.

The Cooperation procedure was one of the legislative procedures of the European Community, the 1st of the three pillars of the European Union. ... Established 1952, as the Common Assembly President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 Vice-Presidents 14 Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou Alejo Vidal-Quadras Gérard Onesta Edward McMillan-Scott Mario Mauro Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez Luigi Cocilovo Mechtild Rothe Luisa Morgantini Pierre Moscovici Manuel António... Rejection may mean: In psychology, rejection is an emotion felt by most humans (and possibly other higher animals) when another person denies a personal request, particularly if it is an emotional advance. ... The Consultation procedure is one of the legislative procedures of the European Community, the 1st of the three pillars of the European Union. ... A bound can be: an upper bound - mathematics Bound (movie) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The assent procedure is one of the legislative procedures of the European Community, the 1st of the Three pillars of the European Union. ...

Procedural summary

Main article: Detailed walk through the codecision procedure

Under the codecision procedure, a new legislative proposal is drafted by the European Commission. The proposal then comes before the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The two institutions discuss the proposal independently, and each may amend it freely. This article provides detailed walk through the codecision procedure, also with a historical view. ... The Commission seat in Brussels The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive body of the European Union. ... Established 1952, as the Common Assembly President Hans-Gert Pöttering (EPP) Since 16 January 2007 Vice-Presidents 14 Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou Alejo Vidal-Quadras Gérard Onesta Edward McMillan-Scott Mario Mauro Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez Luigi Cocilovo Mechtild Rothe Luisa Morgantini Pierre Moscovici Manuel António... The Council of the European Union forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union (EU). ...

In Council, a new proposal is first considered by a working group for that policy area. The conclusion of the working group's discussions is known as the orientation generale, and usually forms the basis of Council's position at the end of the first reading, which is known as the common position. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Meanwhile, Parliament appoints one of its members as 'rapporteur' to steer the proposal through its committee stage. The rapporteur is responsible for incorporating the committee's amendments into the draft proposal, as well as the recommendations of the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee. The finished report is then voted on in full plenary, where further amendments may be introduced. The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is an institution of the European Union created by the Treaty of Maastricht. ... The European Unions Economic and Social Committee is the consultative assembly of European social and economic partners. This phrase refers mainly to representatives of business, employers and trade unions. ...

In order for the proposal to become law, Council and Parliament must approve each other's amendments and agree upon a final text in identical terms. If the two institutions have agreed on identical amendments after the first reading, the proposal becomes law; this happens from time to time, either where there is a general consensus or where there is great time pressure to adopt the legislation.

Otherwise, there is a second reading in each institution, where each considers the other's amendments. Parliament must conduct its second reading within three months of Council delivering its common position, or else Council's amendments are deemed to have been accepted, though this time period can be extended by Parliament if it chooses to do so.

If the institutions are unable to reach agreement after the second reading, a conciliation committee is set up with an equal number of members from Parliament and Council. The committee attempts to negotiate a compromise text which must then be approved by both institutions.

Both Parliament and Council have the power to reject a proposal either at second reading or following conciliation, causing the proposal to fall. The Commission may also withdraw its proposal at any time.

Diagram

There is a diagram that shows the codecision procedure ^[1].

Policy areas where codecision applies

The policy areas where the codecision procedure applies ^[2] under the current EU treaties are:

• consumer protection
• culture
• customs co-operation
• education
• employment
• equal opportunities and equal treatment
• health
• implementing decisions regarding the European Regional Development Fund
• implementing decisions regarding the European Social Fund
• non-discrimination on the basis of nationality
• preventing and combating fraud
• research
• setting up a data protection advisory body
• social security for migrant workers
• statistics
• the environment
• the fight against social exclusion
• the free movement of workers
• the internal market
• the right of establishment
• the right to move and reside
• Trans-European Networks
• transparency
• transport
• vocational training

The new Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe, if it enters into force, will extend codecision to virtually all areas of EU policy. Consumer protection is a form of government regulation which protects the interests of consumers. ... Culture (Culture from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning to cultivate,) generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Scope As part of its task to promote regional development, the ERDF contributes towards financing the following measures: Productive investment to create and safeguard sustainable jobs; Investment in infrastructure which contributes, in regions covered by Objective 1, to development, structural adjustment and creation and maintenance... The European Social Fund (ESF) is the oldest of the European Structural Funds that provide grants to support economic development within the European Union. ... Research is a human activity based on intellectual investigation and aimed at discovering, interpreting, and revising human knowledge on different aspects of the world. ... Social security primarily refers to a field of social welfare service concerned with social protection, or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment, families with children and others. ... Migrant farm worker, New York 2003 USPS stamp featuring Chávez and the fields that were so important to him A migrant worker is someone working on a regular basis away from their home, if indeed they have a home. ... A graph of a normal bell curve showing statistics used in educational assessment and comparing various grading methods. ... Social exclusion relates to the alienation or disenfranchisement of certain people within a society. ... An internal market operates inside an organisation or set of organisations which have decoupled internal components. ... Look up move in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... TEN re-directs here; for alternate uses, see Ten. ... See: transparency (optics) alpha compositing GIF#Transparency transparency (overhead projector) market transparency transparency (telecommunication) transparency (computing) For X11 pseudo-transparency, see pseudo-transparency. ... Vocational education (or Vocational Education and Training (VET)) prepares learners for careers or professions that are traditionally non-academic and directly related to a trade, occupation or vocation in which the learner participates. ... The constitutional treaty as signed in Rome on 29 October 2004 by representatives of the EU member states The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TECE), commonly referred to as the European Constitution, was an international treaty intended to create a new constitution for the European Union. ...

Development of codecision

The introduction of codecision, under the Treaty of Maastricht, almost completely replaced the cooperation procedure and thereby strengthened Parliament's legislative powers considerably. The Maastricht treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht between the members of the European Community and entered into force on 1 November 1993. ... The Cooperation procedure was one of the legislative procedures of the European Community, the 1st of the three pillars of the European Union. ...

Initially, the codecision procedure applied to the following areas of European policy:

• consumer policy
• culture (incentive measures)
• education (incentive measures)
• environment (general action programme)
• free movement of workers
• health (incentive measures)
• research (framework programme)
• right of establishment
• services
• the internal market
• trans-European networks (guidelines)

The Treaty of Amsterdam subsequently simplified the procedure, making it quicker and more transparent, and extending it to more areas of policy. The Amsterdam Treaty (in full: Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts) which was signed on October 2, 1997, and entered into force on May 1, 1999, made substantial changes to the Treaty on European Union which...

Most recently, the Treaty of Nice established the codecision procedure for any policy area where the Council of Ministers adopts proposals by Qualified Majority Voting (rather than unanimity). The codecision procedure is now by far the most common legislative process in the EU, applying to the vast majority of policy areas. Treaty of Nice The Treaty of Nice is a treaty adopted in Nice by the European Council to amend the two founding treaties of the European Union: the Treaty on European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, which introduced the Euro and the 3-pillar structure of the EU; the Treaty of... The Council of the European Union forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union (EU). ... One of the key sticking points before the European Council meeting in June 2007 was Polands demand for a change in the proposed voting system in the Council of the European Union. ...

Criticism

Besides general criticism that the procedure is long and cumbersome, some critics contend that the codecision procedure gives too much power to the Council at the expense of the Parliament. It could be argued that the process is weighted against the Parliament at second reading, as Parliament may only modify or reject amendments from Council by an absolute majority of MEPs, not just those in the chamber at the time. Absolute majority is a supermajoritarian voting requirement which is stricter than a simple majority. ...

Defenders reply that the EU is not a federation and argue that national governments should remain accountable for their collective decisions. A map displaying todays federations. ...

See also

• Cooperation procedure
• Consultation procedure

The Cooperation procedure was one of the legislative procedures of the European Community, the 1st of the three pillars of the European Union. ... The Consultation procedure is one of the legislative procedures of the European Community, the 1st of the three pillars of the European Union. ...

External links

References and official information

• Information from the European Commission:
  • Article 251 of the Treaty establishing the European Community
  • Codecision flowchart and detailed step-by-step description
• Information from the European Parliament:
  • Conciliation and Codecision - A Guide how Parliament co-legislates (PDF)
  • Other articles of the Treaties which are relevant to directives under co-decision
  • Articles related to the Common Position
• Information from the Council:
  • The Council's Codecision page which links to its Co-decision Guide (as PDF) it contains a very comprehensive view from the viewpoint of the council
• Information from other institutions:
  • Report from the UK House of Commons Committee on European Scrutiny on the procedure
  • The working procedure in the parliament (LGIB)
• Analysis and History:
  • Codecision: The recent developments
  • Improving the functioning of the codecision procedure (pdf, doc)
  • Formal and Informal Institutions under Codecision: Continuous Constitution Building in Europe
  • The extension of the codecision procedure in Amsterdam (PDF)

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for desktop publishing use. ... Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for desktop publishing use. ... Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for desktop publishing use. ...

Other information sources

• Very simple codecision flowchart diagram
• Simple top-down diagram of the codecision procedure.
• Detailed description from Xavier Druis
• Colored Flowchart Poster in pdf or sxd format (License: GPL).
• Article at EUABC