Treaty of Nice

The treated of Nice is a treaty signed on February 26th, 2001 by the Member States of the European Union. It fixes the principles and the methods of evolution of the institutional system as the Europe widens and came into effect the 2003.

Indeed, from the point of view of a widening with 27 Member States at the horizon 2007, the methods of decision making within the institutions had to be the subject of adaptations. A new distribution of the voices allotted in each State with the Council, as well as the definition of a new calculation of the qualified majority, appeared necessary to the good performance of this decisional authority threatened of paralysis.

The treaty of Nice and widening were the object a referendum in June 2001 in Ireland. The Irishmen had said then not; after a second referendum, they finally ratified the treaty.

Period pretreated

Beginning 2004, the system of distribution of the voices is the following:

The qualified Majorité requires to gather 62 votes out of 87, that is to say 71,2% of the voices, whereas the Minorité of blocking is reached with 26 votes.

The majority qualified today into force rests on a voting system balanced. An act is adopted when the total of the voices which it collects is at least equal to the number of voices defining the threshold of qualified majority, that is to say 62 votes (corresponding to the favorable vote of at least 10 Member States). It should be noted that the minority of blocking can be obtained by 3 large Member States, or even by 2 large Member States and Spain.

This way of calculating goes up at the origins of the European Community and was conceived so as to support the “small countries” in their allotting a weighting of voice higher than their demographic and economic weight. It was adapted to successive widenings by keeping the same criteria of weighting of the voices, which returned more and more unbalanced it: to 15, the qualified majority represents less than 58% of the population, whereas it accounted for 70% of the population with 6. Today, a Luxembourg voice represents 200.000 inhabitants, while a French voice accounts for of them 6.000.000 and one German vote 8.000.000.

The Treaty of Nice started the institutional reform necessary to widening, in particular with regard to the three principal institutions of the European Union:

  • European commission: starting from November 1st 2004, it will be made up of a European Commissioner by Member State. The first named Committee when the Union counts 27 Member States will compose of a number of police chiefs lower than the number of Member States. This number will be given during the signature of the Treaty of Accession of the 27e State. The police chiefs will be then selected on the basis of levelling rotation. The capacities of the president of the Commission should be reinforced. The nomination of the police chiefs will be made in the majority qualified at the European Council.

  • the European Parliament: the maximum number of Appointed S at summer fixed at 732 (against 700 at the beginning of 2004) for Europe with 27. Starting from 2009, the number of seats allotted to the current Member States will pass to 535 (against 626 today).

  • European Council: the system of decision making in the majority qualified will be modified starting from May 1st, 2004. Moreover the vote in the majority qualified was extended to new fields.

The Treaty of Nice modifies the current rules of vote and envisages new procedures which will be applicable starting from November 1st, 2004 (after one transitional period going of May 1st to the October 31st 2004). An act will be adopted in the majority qualified when the three following criteria are filled:

  • a threshold of majority qualified with: 232 votes out of 321 for Europe with 25, and 255 votes out of 345 in Europe with 27, are respectively 72,2% and 74% of favorable votes.
  • a criterion of majority, known as regulates “nets of states”: any qualified majority must join together a simple majority of Member States, that is to say 13 Member States for Europe with 25 or 14 Member States for Europe with 27. This measurement relates to only the proposals emanating of the Commission.
  • a criterion of population: the demographic Clause makes it possible each Member State to require that it be checked that the qualified majority accounts for at least 62% of the total population of the Union. However this clause applies only to the only decisions gathering the whole of the Member States. It thus does not apply to the reinforced co-operations and those concerning the space Schengen.

It is the balanced vote which remains the decisive criterion for the adoption, since in the large majority of the cases a vote equalizing or exceeding the threshold of qualified majority also answers the criteria of the simple majority of the Member States and 62% of the population.

Transitional period

Between on May 1st and on October 31st, 2004, institutional transitional period during which will apply the transitional provisions provided for in the Treaty of Nice, one will be satisfied to extrapolate the current rules of distribution of the voices, the Member States current keeping the same number of voices and the new Member States having a number of voices allotted according to their relative weights:

The qualified majority is reached with 88 votes out of 124 (that is to say 71% of the voices), representing at least the simple majority of the Member States if the proposal emanates from the Commission, or 2/3 of the Member States if the proposal does not emanate from the Commission. The minority of blocking represents 37 votes.

Period post-Treaty

Starting from November 1st, 2004, decision making with 25 is done with the distribution of the following voice:

  • Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom: 29 votes.
  • Spain, Poland: 27 votes.
  • Netherlands: 13 vote.
  • Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary: 12 votes.
  • Austria, Sweden: 10 votes.
  • Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Slovakia, Lithuania: 7 votes.
  • Luxembourg, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus: 4 votes.
  • Malta: 3 votes.

The qualified majority is reached with 232 votes out of 321 (that is to say 72,2% of the voices), representing at least the simple majority of the Member States if the proposal emanates from the Commission, or 2/3 of the Member States if the proposal does not emanate from the Commission. The clause of checking represents a threshold of 62% of the total population. The minority of blocking is of 90 votes.

The procedure of decision making to 27, is done with the same distribution of the voices, but with 10 votes for Bulgaria and 14 vote for Romania. The qualified majority is reached with 255 votes out of 345 (that is to say 74% of the voices), representing at least the simple majority of the State members if the proposal emanates from the Commission, or 2/3 of the Member States if the proposal does not emanate from the Commission. The clause of checking represents a threshold of 62% of the total population. The minority of blocking is of 91 votes.

Since the not-ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe by France and the Netherlands (May-June 2005), the Treaty of Nice constitutes the base of the institutional operation of the European Union.

The assumption of the establishment of a mini-treaty taking again only parts I and II of the Constitution, instituting a rule of qualified double-majority, runs up against the refusal of Poland, which asserts a recalculation of the voices based on the square root of the population of each country, which would give within sight of the European statistics of 2007:

  • Germany: 30 votes

  • France: 27 votes
  • the United Kingdom: 26 votes
  • Italy: 25 votes
  • Spain: 22 vote
  • Poland: 20 votes
  • Netherlands: 13 vote
  • Greece, Belgium: 11 votes
  • Hungary, Portugal, Czech Republic: 11 votes
  • Austria, Sweden: 10 votes.
  • Denmark, Finland: 8 votes
  • Ireland, Slovakia: 7 votes
  • Lithuania: 6 votes
  • Latvia, Slovenia: 5 votes
  • Estonia: 4 votes
  • Cyprus: 3 votes
  • Luxembourg, Malta: 2 votes

Chronology of the European Union

Internal bonds

External bond

  • the Treaty of Nice European NAvigator

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