tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1442354669794455738.post9096213973171071847..comments2016-07-04T00:20:29.779-07:00Comments on Brussels Comment: Resources PostingsInsideurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00277432389990738223noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1442354669794455738.post-70970373765484024142007-07-24T06:00:00.000-07:002007-07-24T06:00:00.000-07:00Thanks for the answer, I found your blog through g...Thanks for the answer, I found your blog through google, I forget what the exact query was (something about QMV voting) but your blog showed up as the first result in the "blog search" as ordered by date.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1442354669794455738.post-48642218948279382912007-07-24T03:45:00.000-07:002007-07-24T03:45:00.000-07:00I am curious to know how you discovered my blog, J...I am curious to know how you discovered my blog, John, since it is so new! As my first reader to comment, you are an honoured guest!<BR/><BR/>By the way on re-reading my reply to you, I spotted an omission, which is to mention that voting in Council is now the norm, whereas it might not have been when the EU was smaller!Insideurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00277432389990738223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1442354669794455738.post-14002502047810135562007-07-24T02:19:00.000-07:002007-07-24T02:19:00.000-07:00Glad you thought the resource was useful John. I'm...Glad you thought the resource was useful John. I'm afraid the link you provided doesn't want to work for me, however. Can you tell me how you navigated there?<BR/><BR/>I tried to find what you were referring to, and I did find the monthly Summaries of Council Acts. I scanned them quickly but could only find two occasions on which the UK was outvoted - both in December. One was on the sale of GMOs in Austria, and the other on bananas. Note that I couldn't find the Summary for October.<BR/><BR/>The list only contains acts passed, and not those rejected, I think. This could mean that there are some acts where the UK voted in favour but lost due to a blocking minority or majority against.<BR/><BR/>In answer to your question though, I would not be at all surprised if there had only been 4 occasions on which the UK had been outvoted. In the past, the Council preferred to work by consensus. The low number of QMV votes with opposition may be related to that cultural hangover from a smaller EU. <BR/><BR/>Bear in mind that the votes published are not all the votes taken - scandalously in my view, some Council votes are still taken in secret.<BR/><BR/>Also, a cynic might say that an abstention is the same as voting against (I think the UK abstained twice), and that Member States may prefer to abstain if they know they will be outvoted on a sensitive issue so that they don't have to defend themselves against the charge that QMV puts the country at a disadvantage.<BR/><BR/>But it is essentially correct that the UK is very rarely outvoted. under QMV.Insideurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00277432389990738223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1442354669794455738.post-70331260870628773952007-07-23T17:01:00.000-07:002007-07-23T17:01:00.000-07:00A very good resource. I've never really delved int...A very good resource. I've never really delved into the world of EU documents before and I was wondering if you could shed some light on an issue I found interesting. On the Europa site in addition to the link you give, they have Council of Ministers legislative acts published along with voting records. I skimmed through the results for last year and on legislative acts the United Kingdom had been outvoted a total of four times. I was shocked, is this an extensive list of voting records or is there something I'm misreading? It puts a completely different perspective on Britain's membership if only four pieces of legislation have been passed which our government voted against in the last year. <BR/><BR/>The link was here - <BR/><BR/>http://register.consilium.europa.eu/servlet/driver?page=Result&typ=Acts&ii_PUBLIC_DOC=%3E0&srm=25&md=100&ssf=DATE_DOCUMENT+DESC〈=EN&fc=REGAISEN&ff_COTE_MATIERE_PRIM=public&cmsid=551&ff_TITRE=2006Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com