Is the allocation of voting power among EU states fair?

Annick Laruelle and Mika Tapani Widgrén
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Annick Laruelle: UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

No 1996022, Discussion Papers (IRES - Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales) from Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

Abstract: It has often been claimed that the current voting process within the EU Council of Ministers is not fair. In this paper we verify this assertion by carrying out an evaluation of the distribution of power among the member states. The results show that the current distribution of votes for the qualified majority does not lead to a fair distribution of power whatever definition of the EU is considered. It can not be claimed however that the current voting process has a systematic bias in favor of certain states. We also present a simple method to derive voting weights which lead to a fair allocation of power.

Keywords: European Union; Voting Power; 1966 Conference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C71 D70 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996-09-01
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Related works:
Journal Article: Is the allocation of voting power among EU states fair? (1998)
Journal Article: Is the Allocation of Voting Power among EU States Fair? (1998)
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvir:1996022

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