European Council decides by unanimity - Main contents

For a proposal to be adopted no single member state can vote against the proposal. This voting method also requires that all member states cast their vote. Should a member state be absent, no vote may be called.

Abstaining: unwritten code

Member states are allowed to abstain without blocking decision making. No contingencies are in place should a significant number of member states abstain from voting. Presumable, further deliberation will be deemed necessary. To date, the European Council has always worked towards agreement by all member states, and to deal with objections by any member state as much as possible.

This voting method is only applied when the European Treaties make explicit mention of it. It is only mentioned in limited number of policy areas. In every single case, this concerns politically sensitive subject matter.

Consensual decision-making is based on the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

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  application voting method: should voting by unanimity apply this is explicitly mentioned in the European Treaties for each policy area
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  abstention: sixth part TFEU title I chapter I section 2 art. 235 paragraph 1