27 November 2003

The IGC should back double majority voting in the Council of Ministers, says the Union of European Federalists, the citizen’s campaign group for a federal Europe.

The case against the allocation of votes set out in the Nice treaty is outlined in a new edition of the Federalist Letter to the Intergovernmental Conference, published by the UEF today.

The UEF argues that double majority voting should be used because it is clear, simple, legitimate and fair. The Nice treaty is none of these things. In particular, it does not address the problem of how to deal with member states beyond the 28 currently envisaged.

“The European Union will find it hard to enlarge further if its voting method is chosen on the basis of national interests rather than the common European interest,” said Bruno Boissière, Secretary-General of the UEF.

“In particular, it would be wrong of the Spanish and Polish governments to risk denying to potential future member states the benefits of EU membership that they themselves value so much.”

Notes to editors

1. The UEF is an independent and non-governmental, supranational organisation, dedicated to the promotion of a federal Europe.

2. The UEF issues regular Federalist Letters to the Intergovernmental Conference which are available to read online at http://www.federaleurope.org/en/news/index.html

3. For further information, contact Bruno Boissière or Kristina Weich Hondrila on +32 2 508 3030.