Ioannina compromise

As a compromise of Ioannina ( also called formula of Ioannina) is a system for the protection of minorities referred to, which can be applied to voting in the Council of the European Union. It stipulates that a minority of Member States whose votes not sufficient to form a blocking minority with majority decisions and thus to prevent a decision, after all, force further negotiations and thus delay the resolution or an amendment to the draft resolution can achieve.

If the outvoted minority, comprising at least 55% of the necessary votes for a blocking minority or population united, each of the outvoted Member States may require re- negotiation of the decision object and thus " slow down " the process. This scheme follows under the Treaty of Lisbon from April 2017. Unless already matched previously by the EU double majority system, a rate of 75% applies.

The compromise formula is based on an informal meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the European Union on 29 March 1994 in the Greek province city of Ioannina.

Development of blocking minorities

Maastricht Treaty

The distribution of votes due to the Maastricht Treaty of 1993 gave Member States 2-10 votes for decisions with qualified majority. When the then 12 Member States, a qualified majority was 54 votes of the 76 votes. With 23 votes, the blocking minority was reached, at which a decision could be prevented. With the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden on 1 January 1995, the number increased to 87 votes, the blocking minority should grow accordingly on 26 votes. Some Member States, including the UK and Spain, demanding the retention of the blocking minority of 23 votes.

The Council of Foreign Ministers decided at Ioannina a new rule for majority voting in the EU: If Council members between 23 (earlier blocking minority ) and 26 ( new blocking minority ) have voices, signaling that they reject a majority decision of the Council, the Council is everything set to arrive within a reasonable time to a satisfactory solution that can be endorsed by at least 68 votes out of 87.

The Ioannina compromise was a gentlemen's agreement that has been applied since 1994, practically only once. A British threat in 1995 in connection with agricultural compensation immediately led to an altered draft resolution.

After the Treaty of Nice of 26 February 2001, the votes in the Council were redistributed, the Ioannina clause was temporarily irrelevant.

Constitutional Treaty

During the negotiations of the IGC 2003 on the EU Constitutional Treaty, which for many areas with a resolution of a double majority of Member States and of citizens of these countries, it was agreed a protection of minorities in accordance with the formula of Ioannina was agreed again. The "Declaration on Article I -25 " in the annexes to the agreement stipulates that the introduction of voting principle of double majority instead of voting weights of the Nice Treaty ( scheduled for 1 November 2009) is accompanied by an increased protection of minorities, at least would apply to 2014.

The decision was determined that the Council continues to search for a solution with wider approval if at least 75 % of a blocking minority under Article I-25 ( 2) Draft Constitutional Treaty required the Member States (or Member States representing 75 % of the necessary population ) reject that will be voted on a proposal by a qualified majority. The decision would have remained at least until 2014 in power, after which the Council could have decided to lift it.

Treaty of Lisbon

The anchoring of Ioannina clause in primary Community law been committed by the Polish government as a condition for approval of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. However, this did not happen, as initially called in directly in the founding treaties, but only in a supplementary declaration ( Declaration No 7); but this can be changed only by a unanimous again.

The compromise formula over the Constitutional Treaty was content as complements that from 1 April 2017 a statement by 55% ( instead of 75 %) required for a blocking minority States or Member States, representing at least 55 % of the population, is sufficient for a discussion the dispute to demand by the Council. The time to draw up a solution by the Council was not regulated, it has to be "appropriate " only in accordance with Article 5 of the Declaration; while the majority of Member States understands by about three months, Poland had spoken during the negotiations of two years. Between 1 November 2014 and 31 March 2017 it takes for the " decelerating " still 75 % of the blocking minority. According to Article 3, paragraph 2 of the Protocol on the transitional provisions (No. 36), however, a member of the Council may request in this transition period to vote in accordance with the procedures of the Nice Treaty.

The statement in which the Ioannina clause is included, refers to article 16, paragraph 4 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU ) and Article 238, paragraph 2 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU ( TFEU).