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 located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. 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 informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

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

absolute majority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority r ...

of votes in Parliament.

Application

Under the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member s ...

, 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

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

s. 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 prime component of the monetary 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 most important centra ...

(ECB); * amendments of statutes of the

European System of Central Banks The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is an institution that comprises the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of all 27 member states of the European Union (EU). Its objective is to ensure price stability ...

(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 The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

, sanctions imposed on an EU

Member State A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign state ...

for a serious and persistent breach of fundamental rights requires Parliament's assent under Article 7 of the

EU Treaty The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been d ...

. In its opinion on the 2000

Intergovernmental Conference {{Politics of the European Union In the politics of the European Union, an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) is the formal procedure for negotiating amendments to the EU's founding treaties. Under the treaties, an IGC is called into being by the ...

, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

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 an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...

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 forecast it.

References

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