Page 121 - SEVEN STEPS for COMPREHENDING the EUROPEAN UNION

120 / SEVEN STEPS FOR COMPREHENDING THE EUROPEAN UNION

with Northern Macedonia only after the “name dispute” related to the
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word “Macedonia” had been settled by the “Prespa Agreement.” There
are many similar examples to recall.
More than 85% of the European Union Council decisions are made
using the Double Qualified Majority voting rule. According to this rule,
at least 55% of member states must vote in favor, which means that with
the current 27 member states, at least 15 must approve. Additionally,
the population represented by these supportive states needs to
account for at least 65% of the total EU population. This requirement
for a majority to meet two conditions is why it is referred to as the
Double Majority system.
The double majority voting is applied to any initiative which the
European Commission submits for adoption. There are instances when
a legal amendment is submitted by another institution, be it the EU
Parliament or the EU Council. In such cases, the so-called reinforced
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double majority voting is used which requires that the initiative has
to be supported by at least 72% of the member states representing
at least 65% of the EU’s population. Although, such cases are rare
as the absolute majority of documents to be adopted are usually
submitted by the European Commission.

The double majority voting system developed a concept of the so-
called “Blocking Minority.” It specifies the minimum number of member
states and the size of their population which is necessary to reject a
proposal through the double qualified majority voting. A blocking
minority is formed when at least four EU member states vote against
a proposal and the aggregate population of such states represents at
least 35% of the EU’s population.

The blocking minority concept offers a few interesting observations.
The sum of the populations of Germany and France - 18,72% and 15,11%
of the total EU population respectively - amounts to almost 34% of the

85 In 2018, the Prespa Agreement was signed between the Hellenic Republic and Northern
Macedonia as a result of negotiations carried out under the UN umbrella. The
agreement settled the dispute between the parties which began in 1991.
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Qualified majority
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/voting-system/qualified-majority/