Council of European Union_F&F_2025_Polgroups STA

Voting system
The Council takes its decisions by using three distinct voting procedures, depending on the specific issue under discussion. Qualified majority voting (QMV) has now become the most commonly used system.
A majority of Council members have to be present for a vote to take place.
Voting weights by country and by political group
When qualified majority voting is used, weights are also based on the size of Member States’ populations. The graphic on the right illustrates this voting key, with countries grouped (for this chart) by the political group in the European Parliament of which the leading party in government in May 2025 is a member.