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Similarly, as regard the matter covered by the third pillar (justice and home affairs), there is also a duty of mutual information and consultation with the Council. Article K.3.1 TEU provides that:" In the areas referred to Article K.1, member states shall inform and consult one another within the Council with a view to coordinate their action .to that end, they shall establish collaboration between the relevant departments of their administrations.In the other indents of Article K3 TEU, the Council is empowered to adopt joint positions and promote, using the appropriate form and procedures, any co-operation contributing to the pursuing of the objectives of the union ,adopt joint action ,and draw up conventions which it shall recommend to the member states for adoption in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
II .The procedure of decision-making
The Council reaches its decisions through a negotiating process which the EC treaty normally requires to be set in motion by a proposal from the commission .the negotiation process has been profoundly affected by the extension, pursuant to the SEA, of the range of matters that can be decided by a qualified majority, and the TEU continues the trend set by the SEA: it will allow majority decision-making by the Council in important policy areas.
Article 147 EC provides that:" the Council shall meet when convened by its president on his initiative or at the request of one of its member states or of the commission." The meeting may be convened anywhere in the community, though they are frequent held in Brussels. With respect to voting, Article 148 EC provides that: ''save as otherwise provide in this treaty ,the Council shall act by a majority of its members ." The majority is not based on ''one state--one vote'', it is a weighted system. The total number of votes distributed amongst the 15 states of the EU is 87,the number of votes required to pass a motion was 62 :this is the qualified majority. As 148 EC provides:
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