The Treaty on European Union ("Maastricht Treaty"), which came into effect in 1993, introduced a new procedure for legislative decision making. This codecision procedure, as it is called, requires a conciliation effort to be undertaken on the occasions when Parliament disagrees with the Council's common position. Most observers note that the codecision procedure has 'strengthened the position of the Parliament" (Bright, 1995: 34). Moreover, it is regarded as a "remarkable step forward" for Parliament (Westlake, 1994b: 146). However, the new procedure did not change the balance of power in the Union in such a way that Council and Parliament have equivalent decision making power. Westlake (1994a: 236), for example, indicates that Parliament "...feels that the balance of respective powers of Council and Parliament in the case of a third reading (i.e., when the conciliation committee has failed to reach agreement) is tipped in favor of the Council." After a conciliation effort the Council may take the lead and confirm its common position or propose a bill which is modified to take account of some of the amendments proposed by the European Parliament. The final Council proposal will become Community law unless it is vetoed by Parliament.¹