Treaty extends areas covered by qualified majority voting

When EU member-states meet in the Council of Ministers, they usually make decisions by consensus, without the need for a vote.

If they do vote, there are three methods, depending on the issue under discussion: a simple majority of the ministers present; by unanimity; or by qualified majority voting.

The Nice Treaty extends the number of policy areas to be decided by qualified majority voting and changes the voting system.

Under qualified majority voting, each country is allocated a number of votes that is related to its population. Thus Germany, France, Britain and Italy have the largest number of votes and Luxembourg the fewest.

The new voting system roughly triples the number of votes for bigger countries and doubles those for smaller countries. Germany will have 29 votes (up from 10) and Ireland seven (up from three).

The treaty introduces two further hurdles. All measures must have the support of a majority of member-states. And the countries supporting the measure must constitute at least 62 per cent of the EU's total population.

Until now, appointments to many senior positions within the EU have required the unanimous approval of all member-states. The Nice Treaty proposes that all members of the Commission, including its President, be chosen by qualified majority.

Member-states will also lose their veto over the appointment of the two most senior bureaucrats in the Council of Ministers and over some external EU representatives.

The treaty extends qualified majority voting to almost all issues concerning the trade in services and intellectual property. But it exempts cultural, audiovisual, social, education and public health services.