How does the conciliation procedure work?

The Conciliation Committee consists of two delegations: one from the Council of Ministers² with a representative from each of the 27 Member States, and one of the same size from the European Parliament³. The Commission⁴ also participates in the work and acts as a mediator between the two other institutions. The committee has six weeks to draw up a joint text, based on the Council’s common position and the European Parliament’s proposed amendments.

The committee’s work can result in one of the following:

• 1. 

  The Conciliation Committee approves the draft act. The draft is then returned to the Council and the European Parliament for formal adoption.
• 2. 

  The Conciliation Committee is unable to agree on a draft text. The decision-making process is then broken off.

If the institutions agree on a new draft text in the Conciliation Committee (1), the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament have six weeks to adopt the new draft. With a couple of exceptions, the Council must reach a decision by qualified majority and the European Parliament by an absolute majority of its members (a minimum of 393 votes).

This procedure may have the following results:

• 1. 

  If both institutions approve the Conciliation Committee’s draft text, the act will be adopted in accordance with the draft text and can be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
• 2. 

  If both or either of the institutions do not approve the draft text within this period, the decision-making process is broken off without an act being adopted.

• 1. 

  Van 1 juli t/m 31 december 2009 vervulde Zweden het voorzitterschap van de Europese Unie. Zweden nam het stokje over van Tsjechië. Het Zweeds voorzitterschap was het laatste 'alleenstaande' voorzitterschap, hierna werkten de voorzittende landen altijd in een zogenaamde Trojka.
   
• 2. 

  In the Council, government ministers from each EU country meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws, and coordinate policies. The ministers have the authority to commit their governments to the actions agreed on in the meetings.
  Together with the European Parliament , the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU.
  Not to be confused with:
   
• 3. 

  The European Parliament is the EU's law-making body. It is directly elected by EU voters every 5 years.
  What does the Parliament do?
  The Parliament has 3 main roles:
  Legislative
   
• 4. 

  The European Commission is the executive body of the EU and runs its day-to-day business. It is made up of the College of Commissioners, 27 European Commissioners, one for each member state, who are each responsible for one or several policy areas. In addition, the 'Commission' also refers to the entire administrative body that supports the Commissioners, consisting of the Directorates-General and the Services.