Changes

The Council takes most decisions under the Community Pillar by qualified majority voting (QMV) but endeavours to reach the broadest possible consensus before approving legislation. Unanimity is required for a number of specific areas related to economic integration (e.g. taxation), constitutional matters such as amendments to the treaties, the launching of a new common policy, the accession of a new member state, and matters falling within the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, European Security and Defence Policy, and aspects of law enforcement and judicial cooperation. The number of votes cast by each member state when the EU Council votes by qualified majority voting was determined by the Nice Treaty and roughly correlates to the size of its population.  

The Council takes most decisions under the Community Pillar by qualified majority voting (QMV) but endeavours to reach the broadest possible consensus before approving legislation. Unanimity is required for a number of specific areas related to economic integration (e.g. taxation), constitutional matters such as amendments to the treaties, the launching of a new common policy, the accession of a new member state, and matters falling within the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, European Security and Defence Policy, and aspects of law enforcement and judicial cooperation. The number of votes cast by each member state when the EU Council votes by qualified majority voting was determined by the Nice Treaty and roughly correlates to the size of its population.  

===The European Parliament===

===The [[European Parliament]]===

The European Parliament is the largest trans-national parliament in the world, and the second-largest overall (behind [[India]]), with an electorate of almost half a billion. Members of the Parliament are directly elected by all EU citizens for five-year terms; elections follow national election procedures, except they have to be a form of proportional representation. Members do not sit in national delegations; rather, they sit in groups according to political affiliation (including Socialists, Christian Democrats/Conservatives, Liberals, Greens, et cetera).  

The European Parliament is the largest trans-national parliament in the world, and the second-largest overall (behind [[India]]), with an electorate of almost half a billion. Members of the Parliament are directly elected by all EU citizens for five-year terms; elections follow national election procedures, except they have to be a form of proportional representation. Members do not sit in national delegations; rather, they sit in groups according to political affiliation (including Socialists, Christian Democrats/Conservatives, Liberals, Greens, et cetera).