Voting in the European Parliament
- (Photo: Notat)
The normal requirement is a simple majority of votes. For co-decision and some of the assent procedures - now mostly called "consent" - an absolute majority of EP-members is required.
An absolute majority is 378 out of 754 possible votes.
The Lisbon Treaty proposed to change the number of seats in the Parliament to 751. Germany kept 99 seats until 2014 when they shall reduce to 96.
To censure the Commission the European Parliament needs a 2/3 majority also representing an absolute majority of members.
Note
In 2008 the European Parliament agreed 139 decisions in first reading under co-decision, 29 under second reading and only one in third reading. 20 decisions were agreed in the assent procedure. The European Parliament was heard in 101 cases where Parliament has no direct say.
