As we all know, the European Union is a very important institution that has big responsibilities. They also need to take big decisions in which they use this process:
Decision-making at European Union level involves various European institutions as the European Commission, the European Parliament (EP), and the Council of the European Union. Decision making process involves three main procedures:
1.- Codecision:
This procedure is used for most EU law-making. It shares legislative power equally between the Council and the Parliament. If Council and Parliament cannot agree on a piece of proposed legislation, it is put before a conciliation committee, composed of equal numbers of Council and Parliament representatives. Once this committee has reached an agreement, the text is sent once again to Parliament and the Council so that they can finally adopt it as law.
2.- Assent
The assent procedure means that the Council has to obtain the European Parliament's assent before certain very important decisions are taken.The procedure is the same as in the case of consultation, except that Parliament cannot amend a proposal: it must either accept or reject it. To accept it, it is requires an absolute majority of the vote cast.The assent procedure is mostly used for agreements with other countries, including the agreements allowing new countries to join the EU.
3.- Consultation
The consultation procedure is used in areas such as agriculture, taxation and competition. Based on a proposal from the Commission, the Council consults Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Parliament can approve the Commission proposal, reject it, or ask for amendments.
