It is the Union's legislative body; for a wide range of EU issues, it
exercises that legislative power with the EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. It coordinates the broad economic policies of the member states. It concludes international agreements with one or more states or international organisations. It shares budgetary authority with the Parliament. It takes the decisions necessary for framing and imple- menting the common foreign and security policy, on the basis of gen- eral guidelines established by the EUROPEAN COUNCIL, and coordi- nates the activities of member states and adopts measures in the field of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. Depending on what powers it exercises, it requires to vote unanimously or some- times by qualified majority. The system at the time of writing is that Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom have ten votes, Spain has eight votes, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands and Portugal five votes, Austria and Sweden four votes, Denmark, Finland and the Republic of Ireland have three votes, and Luxembourg has two votes. In qualified majority voting, Commission proposals must receive 62 votes out of a total of 87 in order to be approved. To amend a Commission proposal without the Commission's consent, unanimity among Council members is required. The Presidency is held on a rota for six months in alphabetic rotation – each member state assuming its position in the alphabet by virtue of its own lan-
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guage name. Thus Greece appears under H (Hellenic Republic) and Spain under E (España).
- standard security
- Star Chamber
- stare decisis
- state aids
- state for settlement
- state immunity
- statement of affairs
- States of Deliberation
- States of Jersey
- Statute of Westminster
- statutory
- statutory company
- statutory instrument
- statutory interpretation
- stay of action
- stay of execution
- stipulatio
- stipulation
- stock
- stock exchange
- stop notice
- stoppage in transit
- Stormont
- street trading
- strict liability