Co-decision

This section outlines the procedure for co-decision

Most veterinary policy is decided through a procedure called “co-decision”. The Commission will make a proposal for a major piece of legislation, for example on animal welfare in transport, and the European Parliament and the Agriculture Council will have equal responsibility for adopting the final text.

Co-decision procedure

The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht introduced the ‘co-decision’ procedure , which puts the Parliament on an equal footing with the Council when legislating on a whole series of important issues including consumer protection and most animal health policies.
The European Parliament has the power to throw out proposed legislation in these fields if an absolute majority of members of Parliament vote against the Council’s ‘common position’. The Treaty has made provision for a conciliation procedure.