BEHIND THE SCENES - AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INFORMAL PROCESSES AT WORK IN CONCILIATION

The intergovernmental conference which was completed in 1991, the resu lt of which was the Treaty on European Union, introduced the codecisio n procedure. This procedure gives the Council of Ministers and the Eur opean Parliament equal legislative powers in adopting legislation in c ertain policy areas. The article examines this procedure, from a Europ ean Parliament perspective. Through an examination of conciliation neg otiations on the Packaging Directive and three public health programme s, it highlights how the adoption of informal working procedures has c ontributed to the successful operation of codecision-making.