Consent procedure

The consent procedure is a legislative or non-legislative procedure where the European Parliament (EP) is not a co-author of the act with the Council of the European Union but can still exercise its power of veto or approval.

The EP’s consent to a proposed act may be required under either the Treaty on European Union (TEU) or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The EP may accept or reject a proposed act and cannot amend it. Where the EP does not give its consent, the act cannot be adopted.

As a non-legislative procedure, it applies, for instance:

to the ratification of certain international agreements negotiated by the EU under Article 218 TFEU;
in cases of a serious breach of fundamental rights under Article 7 TEU;
to the accession of new EU member countries under Article 49 TEU;
to arrangements for the withdrawal from the EU under Article 50 TEU.

As a legislative procedure, it is used also, for instance:

when new legislation on combating discrimination is being adopted under Article 19 TFEU;
when the subsidiary general legal basis is applied in line with Article 352 TFEU.

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Consent procedure