What votes do you need to get what you want

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I take a contrarian approach to lobbying. I don’t think it is about officials or politicians supporting your views. I just think it is about getting the votes to get over the winning line.

This may seem a nuanced position. It is not. A lot of people will only accept support if the official or politician backs them for their reasons. They are in the business of political conversion.

I don’t mind why people vote the way they do, just as long as they vote in favour of my client’s interests. Maybe they support the client’s position, or maybe they are voting for any number of reasons. I don’t mind.

If you want to get the votes you want, you’ll need to work across political parties in the EP and Council. No one political block in the EP or in Council has enough support to push a proposal through.

 

What votes do you need to get what you want

Here are some of the obvious places you are going to need to get votes.

1. Adoption by College
Simple Majority – 14 out of 27.  Most proposals are adopted without discussion or a vote.
2. Ordinary Legislation
First Reading – no time limit
Vote in Committee: Simple Majority (majority of the votes cast)
Vote in Plenary: Simple Majority
Vote in Council: Qualified Majority
Second reading – time limit – generally 4 months (3 months extendable by 1 month)
Vote in Committee: Approve by Simple Majority
Vote in Plenary: Approve Council’s position by simple majority, but rejects or amends by an  absolute Majority: 353 out of 705 MEPs)
Vote in Council: Qualified Majority (unanimity if the Commission opposes a Parliament amendment)
Conciliation – time limit – 6 weeks (extendable to 8 weeks)
EP Delegation formally approves or rejects the agreement reached in conciliation – absolute majority of Members of the delegation (currently at least 14 votes in favour out of a possible 27).
3rd Reading

Council:  QMV

European Parliament:  Simple Majority in a single vote

 

3. Challenges to Secondary Legislation

 1. Implementing act
Draft to Examination Committee: Vote by QMV
Appeal Committee ( QMV against or No Opinion ((N0 QMV in favour or against)): Vote by QMV
Scrutiny by EP

Vote in Committee: Simple of Majority

Vote in Plenary: Simple Majority
Objection not binding
Scrutiny by Council
Council has not yet challenged an implementing act. They are represented in the comitology committee.
Advisory Committee
Committee votes by Simple majority – 1 vote per country
Grounds to challenge an implementing act

A draft implementing act exceeds the implementing powers provided for in the basic act (Article 11 Comitology Regulation)

2. Delegated Act
Scrutiny by Council
Vote in Council: Super-Qualified Majority (Super Qualified Majority = Minimum “Yes” required for adoption: (72%) 20 Member States; and Population: Minimum “Yes” required for adoption: 65%)
Scrutiny by EP

Vote in Committee:  Simple Majority

Vote in Plenary:  Absolute Majority – 353

Grounds to challenge a RPS Measure:

None

3. RPS Measure

Regulatory Committee

Adaption of Commission Draft voted by Regulatory Committee by Qualified Majority Vote (QMV =Member States: Minimum “Yes” required for adoption: (55%) 15 Member States; and Population: Minimum “Yes” required for adoption: 65%)

Scrutiny by the Council

Working Party: QMV support to challenge

Council: QMV against the draft measure

Scrutiny by EP

Committee: Simple Majority

Plenary:  Absolute Majority – 353

 

Grounds to challenge a RPS Measure:

  1. Excess of implementing power
  2. Violation of the aim or content of the legislation
  3. Violation of subsidiarity or proportionality

 

Progress of files

 

You can keep track of the progress of delegated acts via the ‘Interinstitutional register of delegated acts’.

To date, the Council have successfully challenged 7 delegated acts, and the European Parliament 13.

 

 

Some useful tools

 

The Council of the EU’s ‘Voting Calculator‘

VoteWatch Europe.