Old rules, new game : decision-making in the Council of Ministers after the 2004 enlargement
General changes: The period immediately following the enlargement saw a general drop in the amount of legislation passed, but the annual adoption rate had almost 'recovered' by year-end 2006. The percentage of legislation passed under qualified majority voting is on the increase. Of all the years studied, 2006 had the highest percentage of legislation passed under codecision.The level of disagreement recorded officially in voting has not increased since the enlargement. However, opposition is increasingly voiced in formal statements rather than via voting. These statements are used to signal to home governments that the representative has stressed his or her position on a piece of legislation, but was reluctant to take a more drastic step and prevent consensus. Prior to enlargement, the largest member states were most frequently recorded as disagreeing with a decision; following enlargement, this role has gradually shifted to a group of medium-sized members
eBook, English, 2007
CEPS, Brussels, 2007