eunion1-3, Exercise 2: The empty chair

Model answer:

In mid-1965 a dispute over financing the CAP and the Commission's powers, together with a planned move to majority voting in 1966, led France under de Gaulle to withdraw its representatives from Council meetings (the "empty chair"), paralysing decisions for months.

It ended with the Luxembourg Compromise of January 1966: where a very important national interest was at stake, discussion would continue until unanimous agreement was reached. The members disagreed about what it meant, and in practice it let any state block a decision for many years.

De Gaulle and France represented the idea of cooperation between governments that keep control. The Commission and the supporters of majority voting represented the idea of sharing real power in common institutions. Neither side won outright.