Decisions made by consensus in the Council of the European Union are often far more contentious than the voting record would suggest

Even when decisions in the Council of the European Union take place under qualified majority voting procedures, there is a tendency for votes to be unanimous among all EU member states. Stéphanie Novak writes that while this feature of Council decision-making has often been regarded as proof of a ‘climate of consensus’ among EU states, it partly reflects the desire of governments to avoid blame for losing out in negotiations. Rather than lodging a formal vote against a proposal, ministers generally anticipate when they are in a losing position and refrain from making their opposition public.