ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of European Union (EU) decision-making. It examines the division of powers between the different levels of government which closely determines the capacity for action by each European institution. The chapter presents the decision-making procedures themselves with particular emphasis on co-decision which is the common law procedure. The division of competences between EU institutions and the Member States has proven to be increasingly complex over time. The "Better regulation for growth and employment in the EU" document defines the problem schematically: less bureaucracy equals more growth. The notion of a "special legislative procedure" in fact covers a heterogeneous set of specific procedures whose primary purpose is to limit the influence of the Parliament. The draft Constitutional Treaty, which largely inspired the Lisbon Treaty, proposed a new presentation of the situation. The Lisbon Treaty brought some changes to the budgetary procedure, for both the multiannual financial framework and the annual budget.
