{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2004-701/introduction",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2004-701/introduction.json",
  "legislation": "eudn/2004/701",
  "legislation_title": "Council Decision of 11 October 2004 amending the Council’s Rules of Procedure (2004/701/EC, Euratom)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2004-701",
  "path": "introduction",
  "kind": "introduction",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Introductory text",
  "text": "Council Decision\nof 11 October 2004\namending the Council’s Rules of Procedure\n(2004/701/EC, Euratom)\nTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,\nHaving regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 207(3) thereof,\nHaving regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 121(3) thereof,\nHaving regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 28(1) and 41(1) thereof,\nHaving regard to Article 12 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession to the European Union of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded,\nWhereas:\n(1)\nThe Act concerning the conditions of accession to the European Union of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded has amended, with effect from 1 November 2004, the provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community and the Treaty on European Union with regard to the weighting of votes in the Council.\n(2)\nIn accordance with Article 205(4) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, Article 118(4) of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, the third subparagraph of Article 23(2) and Article 34(3) of the Treaty on European Union, as amended by the said Act of Accession, when a decision is to be adopted by the Council by a qualified majority, a member of the Council may request verification that the Member States constituting the qualified majority represent at least 62 % of the total population of the Union. It is necessary to establish detailed rules for implementing these provisions.\n(3)\nTo do so, it is necessary to establish, in accordance with the data supplied by the Statistical Office of the European Communities, the total population figure for each Member State for a period of one year and to provide for the annual updating of these figures.\n(4)\nPoint IV.A. of the Recommendations for the 2000 Censuses of Population and Housing in the ECE Region, jointly prepared by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the Statistical Office of the European Communities, defines the concept of total population of a State,\nHAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2004/701/introduction",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T15:18:06.876567+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}