The cooperation procedure was introduced by the Single European Act to step up the role of the European Parliament with regard to the consultation procedure. Parliament can make amendments to a common Council position, but unlike the co-decision procedure, the final decision lies with the Council alone. The cooperation procedure applies exclusively to the following areas:
- rules for the multilateral surveillance procedure (Article 99 (5))
- prohibition on privileged access to financial institutions (Article 102 (2))
- prohibition on assuming liability for Member States' commitments (Article 103 (2))
- measures to harmonise the circulation of coins (Article 106 (2))
Since the promulgation of the Treaty of Amsterdam, all other areas previously subject to this procedure have come under the co-decision procedure.
