Suchergebnisse

The article analyses the issue of introducing a permanent system of distribution of seats in the European Parliament, taking into account the existing legal and political conditions. It points out that as a result of the entry into force of the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon, and then Brexit, the indirect voting power of citizens of the largest Member States, especially Germany, France and Italy, in the decision-making process in the EU, has increased. At the same time, most of the proposed methods of distribution of seats in this institution lead to a significant increase in the number of parliamentary seats for the Member States with the largest populations. The paper presents the original concept of a permanent system of distribution of seats in the European Parliament, which ensures that when it is first applied, no Member State will have a smaller number of seats than it resulted from European Council Decision of 28 June 2013 establishing the composition of the European Parliament. It, therefore, meets the important political requirement that the introduction of the new method of distribution of parliamentary seats does not result in a reduction in the number of seats for any Member State.

The article presents the results of research on the impact of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on Poland's ability to build small, minimalblocking coalitions in the Council of the European Union. To this end, the theory of voting games was used, but departing from the assumption that the creation of each possible coalition of players is equally likely. It was also assumedthat they do not necessarily make decisions independently of each other, and the analysis focuses on the ability to build minimally blocking coalitions. The obtained results indicate that after Brexit, for Poland to build a blocking coalition in opposition to the German-French tandem will be a very difficult task, and the loss of the United Kingdom as a potential coalition partner in the Council may be irreplaceable in some matters.

The article analyses the potential impact of Brexit on the voting power of member states and indirect voting power of EU residents in the Council, in the case of adopting decisions by the qualified majority of votes. The leading hypothesis of the paper assumes that the fact of leaving the EU by Great Britain leads to another transfer of voting power to the benefit of five countries with the largest populations. The aim of the paper is also to determine to what extent the indirect voting power of residents from individual member states is equal. The obtained results indicate that a flow of voting power towards the five member states with the largest populations will be a consequence of Brexit.

Przy wykorzystaniu autorskiego programu komputerowego wykonano symulacje głosowań w Radzie po wystąpieniu Wielkiej Brytanii z UE. W przypadku części z nich zastosowano innowację metodologiczną polegającą na odejściu od założenia, że powstanie każdej z możliwych koalicji jest równie prawdopodobne. Przeprowa dzona analiza wskazuje, że po Brexicie znacząco zmieni się zdolność członków Rady do tworzenia małych koalicji minimalnie blokujących. Jednocześnie ocena zdolności państw do blokowania decyzji w Radzie, dokonana w oparciu o Preventive Power Index, różni się zasadniczo od wyników analizy skupiającej się na budowie małych koalicji minimalnie blokujących. Prezentowane badania zostały sfinansowane przez Narodowe Centrum Nauki w ramach projektu no. UMO-2016/23/D/HS5/00408 (konkurs SONATA 12) zatytułowanego Wpływ brexitu i bezwarunkowego wprowadzenia systemu głosowania "podwójną większością" na proces decyzyjny w Radzie Unii Europejskiej.

Using a proprietary computer program, simulations of voting in the Council after Great Britain's withdrawal from the EU were carried out. In the case of some of them, a methodological innovation consisting in departing from the assumption that the emergence of each possible coalition is equally probable was used. The analysis conducted indicates that after Brexit the ability of the Council members to form small minimally blocking coalitions will change significantly. At the same time, the assessment of the ability of states to block decisions in the Council and made on the basis of the Preventive Power Index, differs fundamentally from the results of the analysis focusing on building small minimally blocking coalitions. This research is funded by the National Science Centre, Poland, under project no. UMO-2016/23/D/HS5/00408 (SONATA 12 grant) entitled "The Impact of Brexit and Unconditional Introduction of the 'Double Majority' Voting System on Decision- Making in the Council of the European Union." ; Przy wykorzystaniu autorskiego programu komputerowego wykonano symulacje głosowań w Radzie po wystąpieniu Wielkiej Brytanii z UE. W przypadku części z nich zastosowano innowację metodologiczną polegającą na odejściu od założenia, że powstanie każdej z możliwych koalicji jest równie prawdopodobne. Przeprowadzona analiza wskazuje, że po Brexicie znacząco zmieni się zdolność członków Rady do tworzenia małych koalicji minimalnie blokujących. Jednocześnie ocena zdolności państw do blokowania decyzji w Radzie, dokonana w oparciu o Preventive Power Index, różni się zasadniczo od wyników analizy skupiającej się na budowie małych koalicji minimalnie blokujących. Prezentowane badania zostały sfinansowane przez Narodowe Centrum Nauki w ramach projektu no. UMO-2016/23/D/HS5/00408 (konkurs SONATA 12) zatytułowanego Wpływ brexitu i bezwarunkowego wprowadzenia systemu głosowania "podwójną większością" na proces decyzyjny w Radzie Unii Europejskiej.

Using a proprietary computer program, simulations of voting in the Council after Great Britain's withdrawal from the EU were carried out. In the case of some of them, a methodological innovation consisting in departing from the assumption that the emergence of each possible coalition is equally probable was used. The analysis conducted indicates that after Brexit the ability of the Council members to form small minimally blocking coalitions will change significantly. At the same time, the assessment of the ability of states to block decisions in the Council and made on the basis of the Preventive Power Index, differs fundamentally from the results of the analysis focusing on building small minimally blocking coalitions.This research is funded by the National Science Centre, Poland, under project no. UMO-2016/23/D/HS5/00408 (SONATA 12 grant) entitled "The Impact of Brexit and Unconditional Introduction of the 'Double Majority' Voting System on Decision-Making in the Council of the European Union." ; Przy wykorzystaniu autorskiego programu komputerowego wykonano symulacje głosowań w Radzie po wystąpieniu Wielkiej Brytanii z UE. W przypadku części z nich zastosowano innowację metodologiczną polegającą na odejściu od założenia, że powstanie każdej z możliwych koalicji jest równie prawdopodobne. Przeprowa dzona analiza wskazuje, że po Brexicie znacząco zmieni się zdolność członków Rady do tworzenia małych koalicji minimalnie blokujących. Jednocześnie ocena zdolności państw do blokowania decyzji w Radzie, dokonana w oparciu o Preventive Power Index, różni się zasadniczo od wyników analizy skupiającej się na budowie małych koalicji minimalnie blokujących. Prezentowane badania zostały sfinansowane przez Narodowe Centrum Nauki w ramach projektu no. UMO-2016/23/D/HS5/00408 (konkurs SONATA 12) zatytułowanego Wpływ brexitu i bezwarunkowego wprowadzenia systemu głosowania "podwójną większością" na proces decyzyjny w Radzie Unii Europejskiej.

Paper presented at ECPR General Conference, Wrocław 4-7.09.2019 ; The paper presents the results of the research on the impact of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on Member States' ability to build small, minimal blocking coalitions in the Council. To this end, the theory of voting games was used, but departing from the assumption that the creation of each possible coalition of players is equally likely. It was also assumed that they do not necessarily make decisions independently of each other, and the analysis focuses on the ability to build minimal blocking coalitions. The conducted analysis indicates that after Brexit the ability of the Council members to form small minimally blocking coalitions will have changed significantly. The UK's withdrawal from the EU will strengthen the position of the other five member states with the largest population in the Council, in particular Germany and France. The position of the five most-populated member states will determine the scope of a possible compromise in the Council to an even greater extent.

The paper examines the institution of consensus in the European Union. The article explains how consensus decision making operates in practice and why the consensus norm has been maintained. There is evidence that in the Council there is a cultural norm that dictates that decisions should be made by consensus. In must be stressed that consensus is defined as a cooperative process in which group members develop and agree to support a decision in the best interest of the whole. Formal vote is rare in the Council as a consequence of early consensus-building. Decisions are made predominantly pursuant to the informal rule of consensus. Such view of the EU-decision making does not ignore power and self-interest but contends that these factors are insufficient to understand bargaining outcomes.

The Presidency is without doubt an important arrangement in the governance of the European Union . Every six months a different Member State takes over the chair of the Council of the European Union and performs several noteworthy functions. This article examines the extent to which Member States exercise influence on the timing and content of decision outcomes when they hold the presidency. The extent of the Council presidency's political influence is the subject of disagreement among both practitioners and researchers. Presidents' potential to use their position to advance their own interests is severely constrained by the brevity of the presidential term, only six months, and the limited extent to which they can select which issues should be on or off the agenda. Furthermore, presidents are said to abide by the normative principle that they should be 'neutral brokers' and refrain from using this position to further their own interests. Violation of this norm could result in criticism and retaliatory measures from other Member States. Owing to its formal position, the Presidency possesses a set of informational and procedural resources that can be used for national gain, and typically exploit the position as broker to favour the outcomes they desire. This article considers potential impact of the Presidency's influence on decision outcomes by using the agenda-shaping powers and the brokerage powers in bargaining between member states and interinstitutional negotiations. The main thesis is that a member state benefits from holding the Presidency. The competencies of the Presidency allow a Member State to exercise an extraordinary amount of influence, during its term in office, effecting positive changes on state power. It makes available for states a wide range of the brokerage and agenda-shaping instruments to influence outcomes in European Union policy-making.

The Presidency is without doubt an important arrangement in the governance of the European Union . Every six months a different Member State takes over the chair of the Council of the European Union and performs several noteworthy functions. This article examines the extent to which Member States exercise influence on the timing and content of decision outcomes when they hold the presidency. The extent of the Council presidency's political influence is the subject of disagreement among both practitioners and researchers. Presidents' potential to use their position to advance their own interests is severely constrained by the brevity of the presidential term, only six months, and the limited extent to which they can select which issues should be on or off the agenda. Furthermore, presidents are said to abide by the normative principle that they should be 'neutral brokers' and refrain from using this position to further their own interests. Violation of this norm could result in criticism and retaliatory measures from other Member States. Owing to its formal position, the Presidency possesses a set of informational and procedural resources that can be used for national gain, and typically exploit the position as broker to favour the outcomes they desire. This article considers potential impact of the Presidency's influence on decision outcomes by using the agenda-shaping powers and the brokerage powers in bargaining between member states and interinstitutional negotiations. The main thesis is that a member state benefits from holding the Presidency. The competencies of the Presidency allow a Member State to exercise an extraordinary amount of influence, during its term in office, effecting positive changes on state power. It makes available for states a wide range of the brokerage and agenda-shaping instruments to influence outcomes in European Union policy-making.

Abstract
The Treaty of Lisbon introduced a new system of weighted votes in the Council, which radically departs from the principles on which the distribution of votes between the Member States of the EU was based for more than half a century. At the same time, the system of double majority is fundamentally different from the assumptions on which voting systems in federal states are based, including in the Bundesrat. Systems used in federal states are usually based on a compromise between the equality of states, and the equality of citizens. Consequently, in the Nice system, smaller Member States in the EU had relatively greater power compared to their populations than smaller federal units in the German Bundesrat. The results presented in this paper indicate that the Lisbon system of voting in the Council differs significantly from voting systems in federal states.

The article presents the analysis of structure of blocking, an original research technique based on the voting games theory, but departing from the assumption that all possible coalitions are equally likely. The analysis is focused on the players' ability to build minimal blocking coalitions, and thus on the structure of blocking for voting game. Blocking coalition is understood as collective veto player, which have the right, under voting rule, to block change of the status quo. The proposed research technique provides an alternative for the application of the power index approach to the voting bodies such as the Council of the European Union. Hence, the aim of this work is to fill methodological gap in the research on the voting systems.