DP1402 Is the Allocation of Voting Power Among the EU States Fair?

Author(s):	Annick Laruelle, Mika Widgrén
Publication Date:	May 1996
Keyword(s):	1996 Conference, European Union, Voting Power
JEL(s):	C71, D70
Programme Areas:	International Trade and Regional Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=1402

This paper assesses the current distribution of voting power in the EU Council of Ministers in terms of fairness. The aim of this paper is three-fold. First, we define fairness in the European context and discuss the potential definitions of the European Union; a state, an association of states or a federal state. Second, we look for a definition of the EU which, in terms of power allocation, corresponds best to the respective fairness criteria. Lastly, we suggest an empirical method to determine fair power allocations with a given definition of the EU.