Saturday 1 April 2017 marks the end of the period during which member states may ask for the old qualified majority voting rule to be used at the Council of the EU.
This definitively sets the seal on the 'double majority' system laid down in the Treaty of Lisbon. It is deemed to favour the four largest member states and its use is not without imperfections, according to some commentators.
Since 1 November 2014, the new 'double majority' rule has applied by default to calculate the...