ABSTRACT
UNANIM ITY applies to certain types of decision taken by the Council o f the European Union. Its use is laid down in the founding treaties. Policies that are subject to unanimity require the agreement of all Member States before a proposal can be adopted. For much of the early history of the European Communities (EC), especially following the Luxembourg Com prom ise, unanimity was essential. Since the Single European Act, there has been a general shift away from unanimity towards greater use of decisions being taken under qualified majority voting (QMV). The Treaty on European Union, the Treaty o f Amsterdam and the Treaty o f Nice
have extended the use of QMV and currently far fewer decisions are subject to unanimous agreement in the Council. In contrast to pillar I (the EC), where voting by QMV is now almost the rule, areas under pillar II on the com m on foreign and security policy and those under pillar III on police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters are still subject to unanimity. However, even with QMV, the Council prefers to reach unanimous agreements where possible.
