The consent procedure (formerly ''assent procedure'') is one of the special legislative procedures of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. Introduced by the

Single European Act The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Fore ...

, under this procedure, the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

must obtain the European Parliament's consent (assent) before certain decisions can be made.

Application

Under the Treaty of Lisbon, the consent procedure's applications include:European Parliament
Legislative Procedures * horizontal flexibility clause (art. 352 TFEU), * combating discrimination (Article 19(1) TFEU), * membership of the Union (Article 49 TEU), * arrangements for withdrawal from the Union (Article 50 TEU) * association agreements, * accession of the Union to the ECHR, * agreements establishing a specific institutional framework, * agreements with important budgetary implications, * agreements in areas where the ordinary legislative procedure applies.

History

Single European Act

The assent procedure was introduced by the

. Under this procedure, the

must obtain Parliament's assent before certain decisions can be made. Acceptance ("assent") requires an absolute majority of votes. The European Parliament can accept or reject the proposal but not amend it. However, the Parliament can produce an interim report making recommendations for modifications, and a conciliation has also been introduced. The areas included under the assent procedure were: * specific tasks of the

European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central component of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#International ...

(ECB); * amendments of statutes of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) / European Central Bank; * Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds; * the uniform electoral procedure for the European Parliament; * certain international agreements; * the accession of new member states; * approval of the President and the other members of the Commission

Treaty of Amsterdam

Following the adoption of the Treaty of Amsterdam, sanctions imposed on an EU Member State for a serious and persistent breach of

fundamental right Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Susta ...

s requires Parliament's assent under Article 7 of the EU Treaty. In its opinion on the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

argued in favor of extending this procedure to apply to the conclusions of agreements having global economic and commercial implications.

Lisbon Treaty

With entry into force of the

Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...

in 2009, the assent procedure was renamed ''consent procedure'', and it was defined as part of the ''special legislative procedures'', as opposed to ordinary legislative procedure (formerly ''codecision''). Under the consent procedure, the Parliament express its approval on a Council draft act by an absolute majority vote, without possibility to amend it. Informally, the Parliament is involved by the Commission since the beginning of the procedure, in order to guarantee its consent, although the Treaties do not formally prescribe it.

References

European Union constitutional law European Union legislative procedure {{Legislation of the European Union