The Relative Power of Member States in the Council: Large and Small, Old and New

Abstract

This chapter examines the relative power of state representatives in the Council of Ministers to shape decision outcomes in the legislative arena. I focus particularly on the relative power of large and small member states. This research focus is relevant in the light of the recent enlargement of the European Union (EU), since most of the new member states are small. Therefore, the impact of enlargement on the EU’s decision-making processes will depend on the extent to which small states affect decision outcomes. Moreover, the legislative acts examined in the present study have had tangible effects on a wide range of policy areas, including the funding of student exchange programmes, subsidies for agricultural products, and the content and labelling of foodstuffs. This importance warrants an examination of how these decisions were taken.KeywordsMember StateDecision OutcomeEuropean ParliamentNash Bargaining SolutionMatched Pair Sign Rank TestThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.