Why those with most votes sometimes lose

Date: 05/10/1995

By Ole Ryborg, Thomas Klau and Rory Watson

Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Denmark share a common characteristic despite their very differing attitudes towards the future direction of the European Union.

Each of the quartet is more likely than other member states to cast a No vote, or else abstain, when EU legislation is adopted.

The similarity ends there. Each finds itself frequently adopting an isolated position - but often for different reasons.

Britain's independence of spirit is not surprising given its government's narrow parliamentary majority and the residue of anti-EU feeling in the country.

German rationalisation is more complex. Experienced Brussels' diplomats resignedly accept that it takes as long to change a German negotiating stance as it does to alter the direction of an aircraft carrier.

A German source explains: “It takes us endless internal wrangling before we manage to agree on our negotiating stance for Brussels. And whenever we want to change it in the course of a negotiating process, we have to involve numerous federal or Länder ministries and parliamentary committees.”

The search for flexibility can get enmeshed in the federal maze of Germany's corridors of power and become the victim of a combination of the Union's largest government bureaucracy and the occasional misunderstanding of how Brussels works.

Negotiators are also acutely aware of the watchful eye of the country's powerful business and consumer organisations which are quick to denounce any backtracking on their interests. But sticking to a rigid line and being outvoted may be useful. It can protect a minister from criticism in Bonn.

But as one close observer also admits: “We have a mentality problem as well. Others are very good at staking out an extremist position, which leaves plenty of room for a limited climbdown that gets them exactly what they want. We tend to say from the start what we feel is right and then prefer angrily to stick to it and sink, rather than do an elegant turnabout and follow the rest of the fleet.”

A mixture of morality and the need to keep an eye on domestic parliamentarian opinion lies behind the Dutch government's readiness to be outvoted.

A senior Dutch official explains: “We have a record of sticking to certain principles. We prefer to be outvoted and to defend our position in our parliament rather than allow ourselves to join a majority in a consensus where these principles might be forgotten.”

No such high-minded morals motivate the Danish government. Adopting a more pragmatic approach, it prefers to vote against EU initiatives if these will lower high domestic standards.

In this way, they - and the Dutch - are able to continue to apply their tougher environmental standards.

The statistics compiled by European Voice would not have been possible before December 1993. Until then, votes in the Council were jealously-guarded secrets. Then, in a direct response to the Danish No vote on the Maastricht Treaty, it was agreed to allow access to voting records.

The decision was not without opposition from Germany and even small countries like Belgium and Luxembourg were hostile to the move.

The veil of secrecy over Council business was lifted a little further this week when foreign ministers agreed to give public access, under certain conditions, to the declarations frequently annexed to agreed legislation. These indicate how the new laws may be interpreted and implemented.

The phenomenon of the EU's larger members being outvoted in the Council by an alliance of small- and medium-sized countries is already surfacing as the Union prepares to redraft the Maastricht Treaty.

The possibility of introducing a double hurdle is gaining support. Legislation would need to secure not just the required number of votes, but also have the backing of states representing more than half the population of the Union.

Such a requirement may provide slightly better protection against being outvoted for larger states, but not for their smaller partners